Being a maritime country with abundant sea resources has apparently made Indonesian waters very attractive to illegal fishing boats.

With fish poaching having become a threat to the state, Indonesia and Thailand are working on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will require cooperation between firms from both countries in the fisheries sector.

“In our experience, all this time, many Thai fishing boats operate in Indonesia, while (the Thai government) doesn’t know about this.

“They don’t know, for example, who owns these boats,” Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi told The Jakarta Post recently.

“And when another problem comes up, say a violation, we’ll have to wait for months until it is settled,” he said.

Therefore, he said, an MoU was necessary to ensure that stakeholders upheld their responsibilities, “and those guilty undergo all legal proceedings”.

“The MoU will mandate cooperation in fishing and (require operators) to build (fish processing) plants in Indonesia,” said Freddy.

The MoU would also require “openness”, with the Thai authorities also knowing of Indonesian firms that every Thai fishery firm worked with in Indonesian waters, he said.

Rampant illegal fishing in Indonesian waters is estimated to cost Rp 30 trillion (US$2.4 billion) every year in state losses, according to calculations from the ministry.

Many Thai fisheries firms operate in the archipelago with legal documents but allegedly do not build processing plants as required under Indonesian regulations until their licenses expire.

The requirement for building processing plants, introduced only last year, is aimed at creating added value and jobs in Indonesia.

When their licenses end, these firms apply for new ones and make a joint venture with a different Indonesian firm in order to wipe away their track record. This is a loophole in Indonesian regulations that may benefit them.

But Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand is committed to abiding by the regulations in the sector, saying Thailand “is not to benefit from your resources by exploiting any kind of loopholes” in Indonesian regulations.

“We (I and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) have affirmed that Thailand will participate under Indonesian regulations,” he said recduring his recent visit to the State Palace.

“The best way to proceed, we think, is the course of finding partners … we need to invest in the processing industry, which of course will require support for infrastructure,” he added.

Likewise, President Yudhoyono said new joint investments on these lines would provide  examples to follow for future cooperation.

“(Both countries) are now working on finding the right, concrete cooperation formats that will help us manage our resources better and thus, will benefit both of us,” he said.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said for the time being, both governments were identifying companies willing to join in future cooperation, as suggested.

For the industry itself, the ministry is targeting production of 4 million tons of processed fishery products out of total annual production of 12.7 million tons.

Data shows that from 2007 to 2008, the volume of exports increased by 4.9 percent, from 854,328 tons to 896.140 tons. However, at the same time export value increased by 14 percent, from US$2.26 billion in 2007 to $2.57 billion in 2008, reflecting higher value added.

The ministry’s short and mid term plan targets 9 percent growth in the value of exports for this year, rising to $2.8 billion.

The ministry hopes to increase the total fisheries workforce to just over ten million this year, while also planning to increase the average income of fishermen and fisheries workers to Rp 1.5 million per month,  empowering 850,000 poor people living in coastal areas.

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