Jakarta – The Indonesian government has successfully encouraged neighboring countries in Southeast Asia to help deal with illegal fishing in the region, a minister has said.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the government would sign memorandum of understandings (MoU) on combating illegal fishing with six ambassadors of neighboring countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and China, on Dec. 13.
"The six ambassadors have promised to help combat illegal fishing in Indonesia," she told The Jakarta Post in an interview at her office on Wednesday.
Susi said she would urge other ambassadors in Indonesia to sign similar MoUs because illegal fishing had become a major problem, making Indonesia's maritime sector lag behind other countries.
"They [foreign ambassadors] have to be responsible if ships from their respective countries enter Indonesian waters illegally and if their citizens illegally fish in these waters," she said.
Under the MoUs, the Indonesian government would order the ambassadors to remove their ships from Indonesian waters if they were proven to have entered illegally, she said. (alz/ebf)