Venidora Oliveira – The majority of illegal fishermen in the Timor Sea detected during operations by the Maritime Police come from Indonesia.

The Commander of the Maritime Police, Superintendent Linho Saldanha said many illegal boats have been captured since they started operations.

The Commander of Maritime Police, Superintendent Linho Saldanha, said since being established Maritime Police have captured many illegal boats, including the KM Samudra Lima from Indonesia, which was seized in 2014 and later sold by the government.

"We seized the boat in Lore (in Lospalos) and at that time the government sold it and the money was added to state coffers," he said. "Almost all illegal fishing comes from the neighboring country, Indonesia," he said.

Timor-Leste lies close to the small Indonesian islands of Alor, Wetar, Kisar and Liran, where many of the communities live in poverty and are therefore willing to fish illegally in the Timor Sea.

He suspected that sometimes local groups ask Indonesian fishermen to bring fish to sell in Timor.

He said illegal fishing had become a national issue and therefore urged the government to hold a seminar so that the relevant sides could identify weaknesses in the current system and discuss ways to improve and prevent illegal fishing in the future.

However, he said there needs to be better coordination between police and the court to look at establishing a proper mechanism, especially in regards to the process of capturing and seizing illegal boats so that authorities did not blame each other.

"So everything can run smoothly according to the country's interest as sometimes there is misunderstandings that lead to mistrust".

Meanwhile, National MP Antonio Serpah said he was appreciative of the successful efforts of the Maritime Police in capturing illegal fishermen.

He also called on those efforts to be continued and strengthened as the country's maritime wealth was very important for Timor's future development.

"We have not managed the maritime wealth properly in this development process [and] therefore the security [agencies] should guarantee that people do not take it all," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/development/14268-majority-of-illegal-fishermen-from-indonesia