An official from the Directorate General of Oceanic and Fisheries Resources Surveillance escorting three Vietnamese fishermen at a port in Batam on Nov 5, 2025. - JP
JAKARTA: The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has seized a Vietnamese fishing vessel and detained its three crew members for allegedly operating illegally in the Natuna Sea.
The ministry’s Director General of Oceanic and Fisheries Resources Surveillance (PSDKP), Pung Nugroho Saksono, said the vessel was intercepted by authorities on Nov 1.
“Based on information from the crew, there were initially two Vietnamese vessels operating illegally in the area, a mothership and a smaller fishing boat. However, the mothership fled and left the smaller vessel behind when Indonesian patrols approached,” Pung said at a press conference on Thursday (Nov 6).
Although no illegal catch was found onboard the seized boat, the crew allegedly admitted to transferring about 80 tonnes of fish to the larger vessel before it escaped.
“The stolen fish were high-value species, including squid, red snapper and grouper,” Pung said.
According to Pung, the two vessels were operating using an illegal fishing method known as pair trawling. Pair trawling involves two vessels towing a single large net together, allowing them to catch more fish over a wider area than a single boat could.
However, dragging the net along the sea floor destroys coral reefs and other marine habitats, causing severe ecological damage and threatening fish populations.
Pung added that the ecological damage caused by pair trawling from just one vessel is estimated at around Rp 22.6 billion. Pung emphasised that foreign vessels caught in Indonesian waters will now be seized for investigation instead of being sunk, in accordance with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ current policy.
“Captured vessels will be confiscated by the state. They may later be donated to fishermen’s cooperatives, Islamic boarding schools or universities,” Pung said.
As of November 2025, the PSDKP has captured six foreign vessels in Natuna waters, consisting of five Vietnamese vessels and one Malaysian vessel.
Authorities expect the number to continue to rise, particularly toward the end of the year and during the New Year period, when demand for fish typically surges.
According to Pung, Natuna continues to be a prime target for illegal fishing due to its well-preserved marine ecosystem, which supports abundant fish stocks.
“Foreign fishermen come to Indonesia to fish illegally because the ecosystems in their own countries are already depleted,” he added.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono stated that between 2020 and November 2025, the ministry confiscated 1,149 illegal fishing vessels across Indonesia’s archipelago.
This total includes 957 Indonesian-flagged vessels and 192 foreign vessels.
“This practice has caused an estimated Rp 16 trillion in state losses from lost fishery resources. The environmental damage caused by these illegal activities could be even greater,” he told a House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday, as reported by Antara.
These illicit activities are most prevalent in border regions such as the Malacca Strait, the Natuna Sea, waters near the Philippines, and near Papua New Guinea.
Despite ongoing maritime surveillance, Trenggono acknowledged that the ministry’s patrol fleet is insufficient to effectively combat illegal fishing.
The ministry only has 34 patrol vessels, most of which are over 15 years old, while 70 vessels are ideally needed to monitor Indonesia’s six maritime zones, which stretch from Sabang in the west to Merauke in the east. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
