“We will fully support the management [of the ships],” said Sri Mulyani in Jakarta on Thursday in response to controversy about the policy of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry to sink fishing vessels used for poaching – a policy Susi considers in line with Law No. 45/2009 on fisheries.

Sri Mulyani said she was now waiting for Susi’s policy ideas on how to deal with the confiscated ships.

So far, Susi has been ordering the destruction of all confiscated fishing vessels if their crew members were found guilty of catching fish illegally in Indonesian waters. More than 360 ships have been destroyed since the tough measure was introduced in 2015.

Both Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan have called on Susi to stop the sinking policy.

Sri Mulyani said the confiscated ships would be of greater use to the country if they became state assets, particularly to help fishermen imcrease their production.

“The most important aspect is that the ships can improve the economic activities of the people, particularly fishermen,” she said, adding that the production of the fishery sector could be increased. (bbn) 

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