Combating Illegal Fishing, Indonesia Partners with 10 Nearby Countries

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesia has forged collaborations with 10 countries to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by strengthening regional cooperation to protect fishery resources and the sustainability of marine ecosystems, an official said.

Pung Nugroho Saksono, Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Supervision at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, said that the cooperation involves member countries of the Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices, including Combating IUU Fishing in the Region (RPOA-IUU).

The countries involved are Indonesia, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.

"RPOA is a regional forum consisting of 11 countries, where countries in the region form a joint commitment to prevent and combat IUU fishing and to manage sustainable marine and fishery resources," Saksono said in a statement issued on Thursday, as quoted by Antara.

The cooperation will involve strengthening the data-sharing mechanism working group between RPOA-IUU member countries.

Representatives of the 11 countries have held a meeting to build a more structured and effective data-sharing mechanism to eradicate IUU fishing.

The discussion at the first meeting of the data-sharing mechanism working group included the types of data to be shared, data-sharing protocols, and the preparation of a timeline for creating the data-sharing mechanism roadmap.

The countries agreed to share six main types of data: protected/regulated species data, regulatory information, management plans and target markets, lists of IUU vessels, the movement of vessels crossing national borders, vessel details and licensing information, and IUU fishing incidents.

"This data-sharing mechanism is specifically designed to address various challenges in the regional area," Eko Rudianto, vice executive director of the RPOA-IUU Secretariat, said.

Through the data-sharing mechanism and cross-border cooperation, RPOA-IUU is expected to continue to be a strategic platform for promoting blue economy policies.

This joint commitment aims to create a fisheries area free from IUU fishing and to support sustainable development in the regional area.

In combating IUU fishing, Indonesia has recorded several significant achievements, including the launch of two surveillance vessels and the implementation of vessel traffic control, as well as the National Fish Traceability and Logistics System.

In terms of law enforcement, Indonesia highlighted its success in handling transnational IUU fishing cases.

The Indonesian government has vowed to increase supervision of fisheries areas to detect IUU fishing practices. The supervision involves a direct patrol scheme and satellite-based ship movement monitoring technology.