Indonesia calls for global effort to fight illegal fishing

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday called on the international community to jointly combat illegal fishing which he said has also resulted in other crimes.

Illegal fishing brings profound impacts on fishery industry and the environment. It also correlates with other crimes such as human trafficking, smuggling of goods and drugs, Widodo told representatives of 46 countries at the 2nd Symposium of International Crimes on Illegal Fishing.

Illegal fishing also leads to grave violation of natural environmental protection rules, he said.

"Therefore it is very important for us to combat the organized transnational crime with global collaboration," the president said in a statement issued by the presidential office in Jakarta.

"Sea is a source of income for 520 million of the world's population and a source of food for 2.6 billion people. Illegal fishing has trimmed 90.1 percent of the world's fish-stockpile," he said.

President Widodo, who came into office in October 2014, has taken stern actions against foreign ships intruding Indonesia's waters to steal fish and other marine resources.

Each year illegal fishing triggers 20 billion U.S. dollars' loss for Indonesia and threatens the sustainability of 65 percent of the country's coral reefs, according to the president.

As a result of the tough actions, illegal exploitation of Indonesia's marine resources has dropped by 30 to 35 percent. The country's fish stockpile rose to 9.9 million ton in 2015 from 7.8 million ton in 2013, the president said. Endit