Indonesian Navy Sinks 10 Foreign Fishing Vessels In Batam

Batam, Riau Islands, Feb 23 (Antara) - The Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) and the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry sank 10 Malaysian- and Vietnamese-flagged vessels on Monday for poaching fish in the country's waters. "We will continue to cooperate with all stakeholders to safeguard marine resources in the waters of Riau Islands," Commander of the Naval Base IV Colonel S. Irawan stated. The 10 foreign vessels are MV Selasih, MV BV 92443 TS, MV BV 92442 TS, MV PKFB 376, MV PPF 164, MV PPF 593, MV PSF 2461, MV KHF 451, MV SLFA 2915, and MV KM PKFA 8482. The Navy sank the foreign vessels comprising seven from Malaysia and three from Vietnam by using low explosives, so as not to cause damage to the ecosystem and coral reefs, he remarked. "Besides this, the wreckage of the sunk vessels will later serve as nesting grounds for fish to breed," he noted. The Indonesian government has, since October 2014, sunk 151 foreign ships caught conducting illegal fishing practices in the country's waters, Minister of Marine and Fishery Susi Pudjiastuti stated here on Monday. The ships involved in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing that were sunk comprised 50 ships from Vietnam, 43 from the Philippines, 21 from Thailand, 20 from Malaysia, two from Papua New Guinea, and one from China, the minister revealed at a press conference. The government has also sunk 14 Indonesian-flagged ships involved in IUU fishing. "The government is combating all forms of crime in the Indonesian waters," Minister Pudjiastuti remarked. This is to serve as a deterrent to marine poachers not only in Indonesia, which is combating illegal fishing, but also in neighboring Thailand, the minister affirmed. ***1***