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wenty-one traditional fishermen from Langkat and Deli Serdang regencies in North Sumatra, have reportedly been arrested by Malaysian authorities for illegally fishing on the wrong side of the Indonesian-Malaysian sea border.

The fishermen were detained in separate incidents over the last week. The men, their vessels and the fish remain in the custody of the Malaysian police.

The condition of the fishermen remains unknown and local officials have no idea when the men will be returned to Indonesia. The fisherman have reportedly been detained at several locations, including in Lumut in Perak, Malaysia, where the Royal Malaysian Navy maintains its principal port.

Belawan Port Maritime Resources and Fishery Supervision station head Mukhtar confirmed that the fishermen were detained by Malaysian police.

Mukhtar said that the station was working with the Malaysian consulate in Medan, North Sumatra, to free the fishermen.

“We will coordinate on the matter immediately, so they can be released from custody of the Malaysian authorities,” Mukhtar told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said that the detentions last week brought the number of local fishermen from North Sumatra held by Malaysia to 24.

“Earlier, there were only three fishermen detained in Malaysia, but now the number has risen to 24 because 21 others were caught. We will immediately bring them home,” Mukhtar said.

Tajrudin Hasibuan, the president of the Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Association, said that the chapter had sent a letter to the Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry to request that officials repatriate the fishermen. As of Friday, Tajrudin said that they had yet to receive news on the fishermen’s whereabouts.

“We urge the Indonesian government to press Malaysia to release all the fishermen, because they are just small fishermen who rely on fishing for their livelihood,” Tajrudin said.

He said that the fishermen were arrested by Malaysian police as they searched for fish with their small boats in the open sea.

The fishermen had likely inadvertently trespassed into Malaysian waters, Tajrudin said, adding that Malaysian police were not authorized to arrest foreign fishermen using boats below 10 gross tons in weight on their side of the
sea border.

“The regulation was included in an agreement reached between the Indonesian and Malaysian governments to minimize the number of fishermen from both countries that have been caught over the past few years,” Tajrudin said.

“Isn’t this confusing? An agreement has been made, but it is always breached,” Tajrudin said.

He added that in accordance with the agreement, whenever Indonesian or Malaysian fishermen are believed to have been fishing in another country’s waters, they should be reprimanded and freed and should not be arrested.