Indonesia arrests three men for blast fishing practice
|May 3, 2020
Source: Xinhua
JAKARTA, May 2 (Xinhua) — The Indonesian Marine Affairs and Fishery Ministry’s officers have nabbed three men for their involvement in a blast fishing practice on the waters off North Sulawesi province that has destructed the environment and the ecosystem, a senior official said on Saturday.
The officers seized two assembled bombs, fish, a boat and other goods during the arrest on Thursday.
“Fishing with bombs with any reason is prohibited, because it can damage the environment and the ecosystem,” said TB Haeru Rahayu, the ministry’s Director General for the Marine Resources and Fishery Surveillance.
For their violation against the law, Rahayu said, all the three men will undergo a legal process.
“We will persistently take stern actions against the perpetrators of blast fishing even during the novel coronavirus pandemic,” the director general was quoted by local media as saying.
Another senior official of the ministry Eko Rudianto revealed that there was an indication of escalating number of blast fishing practices recently.
“Therefore, we prepare our personnel in response to that,” he said.
Thursday’s arrest raises the number of perpetrators of blast fishing nabbed in the country to 29 for the last two months, according to the ministry.
Blast fishing could destroy coral reefs in 500 square meters and damaged the ecosystem.
