There are 152 ship crew members in total, and all of them are Filipinos."Ternate (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Navy detained four Philippine vessels on suspicion of conducting illegal fishing in the waters of North Maluku.
The four foreign vessels, intercepted in the waters of Morotai Island on June 11, are now secured at the Perikanan Nusantara port in Ternate, North Maluku, Commander of Karel Satsuitubun 356 Navy Ship Lieutenant Colonel Dados Raino stated here on Wednesday.
The four foreign vessels are F/B Brasshell Dum 3030, F/B Brasshell Dum, F/B Yanrei, and Pambod Nino Aqua IV.
"There are 152 ship crew members in total, and all of them are Filipinos," Raino noted.
The Pambod Nino Aqua IV was sailing solo and was intercepted at a location 12 miles from the border, while the other three vessels were cruising together in a group.
The captains of the vessels failed to present legal documents or permits to conduct fishing in the Indonesian maritime territory, while the authority found some 300 kilograms of tuna on board.
Indonesia has been taking important steps in line with the trend of sustainable fisheries management policies, including the efforts to fight illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing practices.
Despite the Indonesian governments policy of detonating and sinking illegal foreign fishing vessels, the authority continues to encounter vessels trespassing and poaching in its waters.
The Indonesian government has, since October 2014, sunk at least 151 foreign ships caught conducting illegal fishing practices in the countrys waters, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti revealed.
The vessels involved in IUU fishing that were sunk comprised 50 ships from Vietnam, 43 from the Philippines, 21 from Thailand, 20 from Malaysia, two from Papua New Guinea, and one from China.
The government has also sunk 14 Indonesian-flagged ships involved in IUU fishing.
(Reporting by Abdul Fatah/Uu.A059/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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