T

he recent case of illegal fishing in Riau waters, Malaysia’s response to which triggered protests in Indonesia, is just the tip of the iceberg, a government official says.

The true number of poaching cases involving foreign fishermen in the Riau Islands was much larger than those reported, Batam Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency Yulisbar chief said.

Inadequate facilities and the authorities’ lack of commitment to preventing fish poaching were the main reason for the continued rampant thefts by foreign fishermen in the province, he said.

Malaysian Marine Police arrested three Batam Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency (KKP) officers — Asriadi, Selvo Wewengkang and Erwan — and detained them at Kota Tinggi prison in Johore Baru, Malaysia, from Aug. 13 to Aug. 17, after Indonesian officials had caught Malaysian fishermen accused of fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.

Fish thefts in Riau Islands by foreign fishermen are regarded as commonplace.

Fishermen from neighboring Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have often been caught red-handed in the area, especially in Natuna and Anambas regencies.

According to Yulisbar, the Batam KKP has only eight personnel and a patrol boat to oversee 715 square kilometers of territory.

“Ideally, sea patrols should be conducted four times a month, but we don’t have the means for that,” Yulisbar said.

He added that foreign fishing boats, particularly from Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, usually caught fish in the open sea, in Natuna and Anambas, for example.

The low competence of local fishermen was another reason for continued thefts, Yulisbar said.

Between January and July this year, 10 foreign fishing boats were detained by Indonesian authorities. The total number of impounded illegal fishing vessels this year is expected to exceed that of last year.

Earlier, Batam Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency raised its concerns over the presence of foreign fishermen working in the local fishing industry because of limited skills of local fishermen.

Agency supervisory affairs chief Dasril Talani said the volume of fish caught within four nautical miles of the coast had less economic value than that caught beyond 12 nautical miles.

However, most of the vessels fishing 12 miles off the coast of the Riau Islands were foreign, since local fishermen only went out up to 4 miles, he said.

The chief of the Riau chapter of the Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Institute (LKPI), Andi Zulkarnain, said the recent arrests of Malaysian fishermen by KKP officers showed the low bargaining power of Indonesia compared to that of its neighbor.