Indonesian fishermen are worried that a decision by their country’s fisheries ministry to share boat locations could identify the country’s best fishing spots, reports Mongabay, a nature conservancy news service.
Indonesia, in June, became the first country to share its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data with Global Fishing Watch, a partnership between Google, Oceana and SkyTruth. The move was praised by conservation groups as a great way to help deter illegal fishing. But Marthin Hadiwinata, of the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Union, warns that the move could backfire.
Without any access restrictions to the data, fishing vessels will likely rush to sail to locations with the most fishing vessels, and this will result in massive exploitation of marine natural resources, Hadiwinata reportedly told Mongabay.
A 2008 regulation required Indonesian fishing vessels of 16 meters or more or with a capacity of at least 30 gross tons to carry a VMS that shares their location data with the government. The Indonesian fisheries ministry said the government took all aspects into account before making the decision to share the information, according to Mongabay.
Peru is the only other country that has said it will publish its VMS data.
2017 Undercurrent News