Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia’s top officials have calledfor an end to the policy of blowing up foreign fishing vessels caught illegallyfishing in the country’s territorial waters.
In a statement quoted by daily newspaper Kompas, IndonesianVice President Jusuf Kalla said it is “enough” to sink illegal fishing boats asthe policy could affect Indonesia’s relations with other countries.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce also complained thatthe approach and what it termed a lack of focus on constructive policies haddamaged the fisheries industry, leading to a decline in seafood exports.
The chamber suggested the government to pay attention toproduction and to increase investment into the sector.
Indonesia started to get tough on illegal foreign fishingboats in its territorial waters in 2014, and in most of the cases, the localauthorities sank these vessels.
It is estimated that Indonesia’s fisheries industry sufferslosses of 200 billion rupiah (14.89 million USD) each year due to illegalfishing.-VNA
VNA