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Indonesia supports global push to combat illegal fishing
The global fisheries sector has become one of many to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to ongoing illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
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Indonesian authorities destroy seven of 75 foreign-flagged fishing vessels allegedly used illegally in waters off Belawan in Medan, North Sumatra, on April 1, 2017. (AFP/Gatha Ginting)
The global fisheries sector has become one of many to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to ongoing illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
Officials and experts have called for a truly global effort to combat such transnational organized crimes.
IUU fishing practices account for 20 percent of the world’s commercial catches and even up to 50 percent in some areas, which in turn threatens the sustainability of global fisheries in national coastal waters and on the high seas.
As the largest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia has placed the eradication of illegal fishing and related crimes high on the government’s list of priorities, but it requires the support and collaboration of all countries, said Febrian Ruddyard, the Foreign Ministry’s director general for multilateral cooperation, during a webinar last week.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), fish and fish products are among the most traded food products in the world, with 38 percent of fish/seafood entering international trade. At the same time, fishing and fish farming are important at the local level for the livelihoods of many fish-dependent communities, low-income countries and small island developing states.
Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted both domestic and international supply chains, especially following the closure of food services, the cessation of tourism, the reduction of transportation services and the introduction of trade restrictions.
