Indonesian fishing boat found with banned trawl net highlights enforcement challenges

NATUNA, Indonesia — A fishing vessel seized by authorities in Indonesia for a zoning violation was doing more than just fishing out of bounds, local fishers allege: it may have been using a destructive type of net that’s banned nationwide. Local maritime police seized the Indonesian-flagged KM Sinar Samudra on Feb. 18 after finding it fishing within 13 nautical miles (24 kilometers) of the coast of the Natuna Islands. At 130 gross tonnage (GT), the vessel should have been operating at least 30 nautical miles (56 km) offshore, under a fisheries law provision for vessels larger than 30 GT. An in…

Read More