T

he Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is seeking to appeal a recent fisheries court ruling involving the operators of five Chinese-built fishing vessels charged with poaching.

The five fishing vessels, which had been the subject of a trial at the Ambon Fisheries Court, were initially slated for sinking on Wednesday in a joint operation between the ministry and the Indonesian Navy to commemorate the 107th National Awakening Day, according to Susi.

Instead, the operators of the five ships, owned by Indonesian firm PT Sino Indonesia Shunlida Fishing, escaped with a relatively lenient punishment of Rp 100 million (US$7,617) in fines per ship in relation to minor legal transgressions.

The ministry'€™s head of anti-illegal fishing, Mas Achmad Santosa, said the ministry would challenge the decision as the sentence was far too light compared to the initial charges put by Navy prosecutors.

'€œIt has been proven that the vessels used double trawls that could harm the environment,'€ Achmad said.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has expressed anger about the court decision. '€œWe hope that the prosecution will push efforts to file an appeal. We urge them to challenge the verdicts and sentence,'€ Susi told reporters at her official residence earlier this week.

Susi said the Ambon court ruling would set a bad precedent for future cases, as it would diminish the deterrent effect for perpetrators of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing practices in the country.

'€œThe investigation and indictment was consistent, but the judge deemed there was no strong evidence [to convict on serious charges],'€ she told The Jakarta Post. '€œThey should have been given the harshest sentence.'€

Susi claimed that this was the second time the Ambon court had delivered a disappointing verdict, following a similarly lenient punishment for the 4,306-gross ton (GT) Chinese tramp service ship, MV Hai Fa, which was convicted of illegally netting hundreds of tons of fish, including endangered species.

In the Hai Fa trial, the court only issued a Rp 200 million fine for the ship'€™s operators and did not press criminal charges.

The five vessels were caught on Dec. 8, 2014, by Indonesian patrol ship KRI Abdul Halim Perdanakusuma 355 in the Arafura Sea.

From the ensuing investigation the ships were seized for illegally fishing outside their designated area and for using banned fishing equipment that violated their operational permits.

Fishing vessels Sino 15, 26 and 27 were charged with conducting fishing operations with expired permits, which, according to Article 93 of the 2004 Fisheries Law, carries a maximum prison sentence of six years and a Rp 2 billion fine.

Meanwhile, Sino 35 and Sino 36 were charged with being in violation of their permits for utilizing the now-banned double trawl, a crime which according to Article 85 of the Fisheries Law is punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years and a Rp 2 billion fine.

Additionally, all five vessels were charged with operating beyond their designated fishing grounds of the Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE) in the Arafura Sea, which carries a fine of Rp 250 million. The captains and fishing masters of each vessel were also named as suspects, Achmad said.

'€œAnd yet the Ambon court has decided that the evidence was insufficient [in relation to articles 93 and 85] despite the absence of permits. Is it any wonder we'€™re suspicious of the results?'€ Achmad said on Friday.

The Ambon court verdict comes amid the recent sinking of several fishing vessels, including a Chinese boat, by the government.

The Chinese government has expressed concern over the sinking and demanded Indonesia provide details regarding the destruction of the 300 GT Gui Xei Yu, which was taken into custody in 2009.

'€œChina is gravely concerned about relevant reports, and is asking the Indonesian side to make clarifications,'€ Chinese Foreign Minister Hong Lei said on Thursday.

At the risk of further angering China, Minister Susi said she planned to implement an existing regulation that allowed for the destruction of fishing vessels without any trial.

'€œIn the future, we'€™ll sink the vessels on the spot and forgo the judicial process,'€ she said, adding that no intervention by China or any other nation would hamper her efforts. '€œThere is no problem as [our neighboring countries] already know that their ships have committed something illegal.'€