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Indonesia sinks 30 boats to fight illegal fishing

Xinhua, February 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indonesia has sunk 30 impounded foreign and local boats as the world's largest archipelago nation continued its campaign against illegal fishing in its rich oceans.

Among the 30 scuttled empty vessels, 11 were identified from Vietnam, eight from Malaysia, seven from the Philippines and the rest from Indonesia.

The action, which was witnessed by the Indonesian Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force, the Indonesian Navy, National Police, Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, and the Attorney General's Office, took place separately Monday in five different locations across the country.

Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said that the boats had all been seized because they were found poaching the country's waters.

It was the first of such activity this year, but Indonesia has so far scuttled 151 vessels for illegal operations since President Joko Widodo, who took office in October 2014, declared a war on vessels illegally fishing in the country's waters and has taken a tough stance by blowing up and sinking them.

The president claimed that the practice has cost the country's economy billions of dollars annually. Enditem