Indonesia Takes Tough Stance in Fighting Illegal Fishing

Susi Pudjiastuti-Indonesia Maritime and Fisheries Minister

Since assuming office in November as president of this vast sweep of about 18,000 islands, Joko Widodo has made the development of the country’s fisheries and ports a priority. Poaching, which affects some of the country’s poorest citizens and often occurs far out to sea, had received scant attention from Jakarta, but the government has vowed to step up its pursuit of foreign trawlers.

“We are starting a war against illegal fishing,” the country’s maritime and fisheries minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, said in an interview on Thursday. “We will track down and sink every single illegal fishing vessel we catch.”

Excerpted from The New York Times
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