Detained Vietnamese fishermen in Indonesia (Source: VNA)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian authorities have so far capturednearly 580 Vietnamese fishermen for illegal fishing in the country’s waters.
Thecaptured were mainly from the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, theMekong Delta province of Tien Giang and Kien Giang, and the central province ofBinh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, and Binh Thuan.
According to Nguyen Thanh Giang – staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia,the list of arrested Vietnamese fishermen has not matched with the reality, sothe agency is working to update the latest figure to complete citizen protectionprocedures to return home the fishermen.
Talking to Indonesia-based Vietnam News Agency correspondents, Vietnamese AmbassadorHoang Anh Tuan said the embassy always attaches importance to protecting Vietnamesecitizens and promptly addressing relevant issues.
The agency has asked the Indonesian side to humanely treat Vietnamese fishermenand return assets to them. It has also coordinated with authorised agencies inthe homeland to complete procedures for repatriate the fishermen.
It recommended relatives of arrested fishermen to coordinate with the departmentof foreign affairs in their localities to fulfill related procedures to ask Indonesianauthorities to release fishermen.
The number of Vietnamese fishermen arrested by Indonesian authorities forillegal fishing has been on the rise. Since the beginning of 2017, 42 fishingboats with 392 fishermen have been arrested.
The embassy has coordinated with Indonesia’s competent agencies torepatriate 390 fishermen.
To prevent similar violations, the embassy has worked with domesticauthorised agencies to increase communication campaigns to raise Vietnamesefishermen’s awareness of strictly abiding by legal regulations on fishing ofthe two countries.
Indonesia applied strict regulations on illegal fishing activities in thecountry’s waters. In almost all cases, violating ships will be destroyed.-VNA
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Detained Vietnamese fishermen in Indonesia (Source: VNA) 
