Since its establishment in 2007, the RPOA-IUU, with 11 member states, has played a strategic roleJakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries secured support from regional partners on the Regional Plan of Action to Combat IUU Fishing (RPOA-IUU) to eradicate illegal fishing in Indonesia's waters.
"Since its establishment in 2007, the RPOA-IUU, with 11 member states, has played a strategic role," the ministry's Acting Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance Antam Novambar noted here, Saturday.
The RPOA-IUU is a regional initiative ratified in Bali in 2007 by 11 countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
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The RPOA-IUU protocol is established to promote sustainable fishery management and strengthen the national governments' efforts to eradicate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, he affirmed.
According to Novambar, bolstering the RPOA-IUU protocol is paramount to the efforts of Indonesia and ASEAN countries to eradicate illegal fishing through diplomatic collaboration.
Poachers have increasingly advanced their modus operandi, and illegal working networks should be an area of concern for the authority, he stressed.
The ministry remains committed to strengthening law enforcement and surveillance against potential illegal fishing practices, including by engaging in diplomatic efforts to cooperate and ensure regional synergy to achieve the goal, Novambar stated.
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Meanwhile, Secretary of the Directorate General and Coordinator of the RPOA-IUU Secretariat Suharta noted that the protocol had received support from Australia and was endorsed by regional organizations, such as UNDP/ATSEA-2 and FAO-ISLME.
The ministry had earlier announced that the authorities had seized some 125 illegal fishing boats until the end of July 2021, with the most recent action being against a Malaysian boat for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.
From the 125 illegal boats confiscated until July 2021, some 81 Indonesian boats were seized for violating fishing regulations, while 44 foreign boats were also seized by the authority during the same period. The confiscated foreign boats comprised 15 Malaysian boats, six boats from the Philippines, and 23 Vietnamese boats.
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Translator: M Razi R, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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