Fishermen plead guilty
THE captains of two fishing boats and their crew members caught illegally fishing in PNG waters have pleaded guilty to the offences and will return to court tomorrow to make submissions on their sentence.
The National Fisheries Authority yesterday submitted to the court suggestions on their sentences.
Magistrate Daro Kevau Frank allowed the Indonesians until tomorrow to read the submission and respond.
“It would be fair if I hear both parties on their submissions on sentence before I finalise the case,” Magistrate Frank said.
Captain of the fishing boat KMN Nayakarin 01, Muhamid Idris, 32, of Merauke, Indonesia, pleaded guilty to four charges under the Fisheries Management Act 1998 for knowingly entering PNG waters and engaged in fishing activities without a valid and applicable fishing licence.
Crew members Irwan, 24, Dandi, 21, Arhmad Firdaus, 22, Wawan, 21 and Syawaludin, 23, all of Merauke admitted to two counts each of fisheries-related charges.
Captain of the fishing vessel KMN 02 Faiz Utama Samsam, 35, of West Sulawesi province in Indonesia admitted to four charges under the Fisheries Management Act 1998.
Crew members Jumari, 32, Muhamad Kolik Romadom, 26, Muh Syukur, 28, Anwar, 39, and Annasai Marpaung, 48, all pleaded guilty to two counts each of fisheries-related charges.
The two vessels were intercepted by the HMPNGS Ted Diro in Dogleg, Western on Nov 3.
Four other vessels fled the scene.
The NFA submitted that the two ship captains and the 10 crews had sailed into PNG waters to conduct illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
It asked the court to “impose hefty and substantial monetary fines on each of the charges to deter them from repeating similar breaches”.’
It submitted that the two captains be fined K100,000 each for the four charges in default four years in jail and the crew members fines of K20,000 each in default two years in jail.
It sought a court order to forfeit the two fishing boats, fishing gear and fisheries products on the boats.
The 12 are in the NFA’s custody.
8 comments
The K100 000 fine isn’t enough. It must be raised to K500,000 or 10yrs or more in imprisonment. This should serve as a lesson
The amounts should be charged in US Dollars, thus US$100,00.00 each for the ship captains and US$20,000.00 each for crew members is much appropriate. The Fisheries Management Act 1998 should be revised to accommodate these charges.
Those fines and prison terms are laughable sentences. The illegal fishers won’t be deterred by such a ‘treatment’. Next time PNG Navy and Coast guard should shoot at their boats and sink them.
PNG take bold stand on the acts and act accordingly. Make sure PNG must not be used as a doll.
Fines don’t deter these people.
There laughing all the way home.
We have a weak Fusheries mngt Act that contnues to be breached. They will continue to come back, unless something very drastic happens to them .Even if it means we sink them together with their vessels in our waters.
The fines are nowhere near the proceeds and profits they have accumulated from PNG Marine resources since then, and up until the time they were caught. It would be justifiable for a monetary fine, some jail time and forfeiture of the fishing boat and equipment to NFA to compensate for the loses PNG made over the years.
K100,000 and K20,000 fine for IUU fishing is not enough. Its equivalent to USD30,000 and USD6,000 respectively. These amounts are peanuts and can be paid easily when the value of catches is over Millions of dollars. The economics of the current fines do not add up.
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