November 7, 2025 | 11:59 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has seized a Vietnam-flagged vessel suspected of conducting illegal fishing activities in the North Natuna Sea Fisheries Management Area, or WPPNRI 711.
The Director-General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance, Pung Nugroho Saksono, inspected the captured boat in Batam, Riau Islands, on Thursday, November 6, 2025. The vessel, marked HP 9213 TS (70 GT), was operating in Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone without proper licensing documents from the Indonesian government.
"This brings the total to six foreign vessels involved in illegal fishing activities caught in the North Natuna Sea in 2025," said Pung Nugroho.
According to Pung Nugroho, the vessel was detected through the KKP command center and confirmed during an air surveillance operation. Subsequently, this information was followed up by KP. Barakuda 01, commanded by Captain Aldi Firmansyah, which intercepted and confirmed that the foreign fishing vessel was engaged in fishing activities on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
KP. Barakuda 01 then pursued and stopped the vessel just minutes after midnight. The boat was manned by three Vietnamese nationals, including the captain, who used trawl nets for fishing and had caught dried squid. "The total estimated value of the country's potential losses that were salvaged from this fishing activity is Rp22.6 billion," stated Pung Nugroho.
However, Pung Nugroho mentioned that the vessel captured this time was empty of stolen fish as it had already been transferred to the mother ship. "The mother ship fled into their territorial waters, as it was not far from the border. According to the culprits, around 70-80 tons of fish had already been transferred to the mother ship," he added.
Further investigation will be carried out by the Civil Servant Investigators (PPNS) of Fisheries at the Batam Fisheries Monitoring and Surveillance Base.
Pung Nugroho said the North Natuna Sea is one of the maritime areas with a high risk of illegal foreign fishing vessel activities. Not only does it border neighboring countries, the North Natuna Sea also holds abundant fishing resources.
In efforts to monitor these resources, throughout 2025, the Directorate General of Fisheries Monitoring and Surveillance has successfully apprehended 41 illegal fishing vessels, comprising of six foreign fishing vessels (five flying the Vietnamese flag and one flying the Malaysian flag) and 35 Indonesian fishing vessels.
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