"The three vessels hailed from Malaysia and were found fishing in the waters of the Malacca Strait using prohibited trawls," KKP's Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Supervision Pung Nugroho Saksono said.
Moreover, the ships possessed no licensing documents applicable in Indonesia, he said in Medan, North Sumatra, on Thursday.
The KKP took immediate action against the three boats, which were detected by a radar, after receiving reports from locals, he said, adding that his side deployed the ship Hiu 16 to chase after the three vessels, and it managed to intercept and detain them along with 16 Myanmar citizens on board on November 30.
According to him, the detained boats bear the hull numbers KM PKFB 960, KM PKFB 1913, and KM PKBF 1916, respectively, with the last one being the largest with a gross tonnage of 69.07.
In addition to the three boats, he said, the KKP patrol team also confiscated trawls and 80 thousand kilograms of poached fish.
"Based on our calculation, the three foreign vessels could have made our country bear the brunt of losing about Rp16 billion (over USD1 million)," he informed.
Saksono further said that the seizure of the fishing boats was also meant to protect Indonesia's marine ecosystem, considering the fact that the poachers used trawls for fishing.
"It is imperative for us to champion and safeguard our (marine) ecosystem because unsustainable fishing methods might disrupt the population of fish," he stressed.
He then affirmed that the KKP is committed to taking part in safeguarding Indonesia's sovereignty by ensuring security in the country's waters.
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Translator: M. Sahbainy, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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