Indonesian authorities have detained nearly 580 Vietnamese fishermen for illegally fishing in the country’s waters, according to the Vietnamese embassy in Jakarta. – VNA/VNS Photo

JAKARTA – Indonesian authorities have detained nearly 580 Vietnamese fishermen for illegally fishing in the country’s waters, according to the Vietnamese embassy in Jakarta.
The captured fishermen are mainly from the provinces of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Tiền Giang and Kiên Giang in the south, and Bình Định, Khánh Hòa, Phú Yên, and Bình Thuận in the central region.
Nguyễn Thanh Giang, a staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia, said the list of arrested Vietnamese fishermen “does not match reality,” so they are working hard to get updated information so that citizen protection procedures are initiated to get the fishermen back home.
Vietnamese Ambassador Hoàng Anh Tuấn told Vietnam News Agency reporters in Indonesia that the embassy always attaches importance to protecting Vietnamese citizens and promptly addressing relevant issues.  
The agency has asked the Indonesian side to treat the Vietnamese fishermen humanely and return their assets. It has also co-ordinated with authorised agencies in Viet Nam to complete procedures for repatriating the fishermen.
The embassy has recommended that relatives of arrested citizens co-ordinate with the department of foreign affairs in their localities to fulfill related procedures and ask Indonesian authorities to release the fishermen.
The number of Vietnamese fishermen arrested by Indonesian authorities has increased this year. Since the beginning of 2017, 42 fishing boats with 392 fishermen have been arrested.
The embassy has coordinated with concerned Indonesian agencies to repatriate 390 fishermen.
To prevent similar violations, the embassy has worked with domestic agencies to increase communication campaigns to raise Vietnamese fishermen’s awareness of regulations of both nations and the need to strictly abide by them.
Indonesia strictly implements regulations on illegal fishing activities in the country’s waters. In almost all cases, violating ships or boats are destroyed. VNS