Indonesia blows up illegal toothfish ship sought by Interpol | Daily Mail Online
▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3491116/Indonesia-bombs-illegal-toothfish-ship-sought-Interpol.html
Indonesian authorities on Monday bombed the last major ship internationally wanted for years of illegally taking toothfish from southern waters, reiterating a strong message to would-be poachers who enter the country’s waters.
The navy seized the Nigeria-flagged Viking on Feb. 25 operating in waters off Tanjung Berakit in Riau Islands province south of Singapore. It was one of the half dozen ships dubbed the “Bandit 6” by the nonprofit Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which hunted the boats and was among those who alerted Indonesian officials when the Viking entered the country’s waters.
“This is to serve as a deterrent to others,” Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti told reporters. She posed on the beach with a group of navy officials, their fists raised in the air with the smoking boat behind them. “You may go freely in the rest of the world, but once entering Indonesia, this is the consequence.”
In this image made from video, Stig Traavik, left, Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia, left, and Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia Maritime and Fisheries Minister, speak before illegal fishing vessel Viking, which was seized by Indonesia¿s Navy, is sunk with explosives in the waters off Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia, Monday, March 14, 2016.
AP Photo/APTN
The Viking’s Chilean captain and crew members have been detained in Indonesia. Interpol went after the ship in 2013 following a complaint from Norwegian authorities about illegal fishing in that country’s waters.
“This is just a first step,” said Stig Traavik, Norway ambassador to Indonesia who witnessed the bombing. “In the future, it will be much more difficult to do illegal fishing, and the fish catch for local fishermen will go up.”
