RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is stepping up its call for stronger cross‑border fisheries enforcement, urging regional partners to intensify cooperation against illegal fishing and related crimes.

The appeal was directed to member states of the Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (POA‑IUU).

The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries stressed that transnational monitoring is essential, as fisheries crimes often cross jurisdictions and demand coordinated responses.

The ministry's Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance, Pung Nugroho Saksono, cited the 2024 arrest of the Russian‑flagged MV Run Zeng 03, which was caught illegally fishing in Indonesian waters and suspected of human trafficking violations.

To bolster enforcement, Indonesia and international partners convened the Regional Workshop on Crimes in the Fisheries Sector in Bali on April 14–16.

The forum gathered 28 participants from seven RPOA‑IUU member states, alongside experts from Australia’s National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, Interpol, UNODC, and the International MCS Network.

Executive Director of the RPOA‑IUU Secretariat, Saiful Umam, emphasized the importance of mechanisms such as hot pursuit and intelligence sharing to strengthen law enforcement.

Established in Bali on May 4, 2007, RPOA‑IUU serves as a regional commitment to promote responsible fishing practices and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

With Indonesia serving as its Secretariat, the initiative now includes 11 member countries comprising Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam. ***