This is the irony of Indonesia: it is blessed with 3 million square kilometers of coastline, its sea waters filled with abundant resources, yet it imports substantial quantities of fish. Not just ‘luxury fish’ not found in Indonesian waters, but common anchovies and other such fish are supplied from overseas. To make matters worse, some of these fish come from Indonesia’s own seas, stolen by foreign fishing vessels and resold back to us.
This crooked business has continued for years, and the government seems powerless to stop it. These maritime thieves come from Thailand, Vietnam and even China, using various methods. One practice is to use Indonesian-flagged ships and to fraudulently use permits. Owners of these thieving ships have even successfully lobbied to get the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry to pass regulations in their favor.
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