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ollowing revelations of the enslavement of Myanmarese men working for a fishing company operating on Benjina Island, Maluku, in 2015, the Indonesian government has taken steps to ensure the protection of fishermen’s rights in the country.

In less than two years, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has issued three ministerial decrees to address chronic human rights abuses in the industry, with the latest decree issued on Tuesday.

“The ministerial regulation creates a certification mechanism to ensure the fishing industry here is free of human rights violations,” Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said.

Companies that fail to obtain the human rights certificates will not be allowed to operate in Indonesia, she added.

Ministerial decree No. 2/2017 will also require all companies in the fisheries sector to submit a detailed human rights audit to ensure the wellbeing of fishermen and port workers.

The government’s crackdown on IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing has also resulted in improved human rights protection for fishermen and seafarers in Indonesia.

“When we have caught vessels practicing illegal fishing, we also often uncover human trafficking. So sometimes, they come in a package,” Mas Achmad Santosa, the head of the ministry’s illegal fishing prevention task force (Satgas 115), told The Jakarta Post. “It’s something embedded in illegal fishing.”

Mas Achmad said the decrees and crackdown on IUU fishing marked the first step to ensuring better human rights protection for fishermen in Indonesia.

However, it is a different case for the estimated 200,000 plus Indonesians working on foreign fishing vessels overseas, as the ministerial decrees only regulate Indonesian fishermen working on Indonesian vessels in the country.

A report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows that there is a lack of both national and international regulations to protect Indonesians working on foreign vessels, making them more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

While Indonesia has regulated the placement of Indonesian migrant workers since the enactment of Law No. 39/2004, the law puts more emphasis on land-based workers. Maritime workers, such as fishers and seafarers, are reportedly further regulated by other specific ministerial regulations.

“Workers on foreign fishing vessels have to face much larger problems, including a comparatively smaller wage which is mostly paid irregularly; exploitative working contracts; and forced involvement in illegal fishing activities,” said the report, which was launched on Tuesday.

Data from the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Abroad (BNP2TKI) in 2013 showed that 92 percent of Indonesians working on foreign fishing vessels had encountered multiple problems related to their work.

However, BNP2TKI head secretary Hermono said that for the aforementioned report the agency had only monitored 10,000 Indonesians working on foreign vessels as these workers were part of a program between Indonesia and South Korea and Taiwan.

The Foreign Ministry has started integrating its database of Indonesian workers overseas with the BNP2TKI to provide better protection for victims of human trafficking.