"The two countries expressed their commitment to take further practical steps to combat the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing activities," Sutardjo stated in a written statement received here.
Sutardjo, who is currently on a US tour, visited the office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in New York on September 23.
The meeting between the officials of the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs and the NOAA discussed on working closely to strengthen the institutional capacity to combat the IUU fishing and marine spatial planning.
Sutardjo also said that Indonesia and the United States have developed a strong strategic partnership that has given tangible results in the form of bilateral cooperation in marine and fisheries sector.
"The IUU fishing practices have a negative impact on the sustainability of fish stocks, the environment and the livelihood of the marine and coastal communities," he said.
Indonesia has implemented a fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) that uses satellites for the surveillance of fishing boats.
The VMS is to ensure fishing vessel compliance on the provisions of fisheries resources management. Its goal is to create a fishery resources sustainability so that it can be utilized in a sustainable manner for the peoples welfare.
"This is a serious move by the ministry of fisheries management to prevent the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing," Sutardjo said.
The VMS data is also used to verify the catch and ensure that it complies with the EU Commission provision.
The Ministry also runs the Community-Based Monitoring System program by alerting two thousand one ninety five Community Supervisors� Groups all over Indonesia.
The Ministry currently has 31 patrol supervisor boats with 10 ships operating in Western Indonesian waters such as Natuna, Anambas, and Karimata. It has 11 patrol boats in eastern Indonesian waters such as Sulawesi and Arufuru whilesix boats are operating small vessels that are divided equally between the two regions. *** 2 ***
(Uu.A050/ INE)
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(T.A050/A/KR-BSR/A014) 25-09-2014 17:35:10
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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