The causes of illegal fishing and its impacts
Illegal fishing is a fishing activity that is unauthorized or violates the provisions of fisheries legislation. Illegal fishing can be carried out by national or foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of the country, without permission from the country, or contrary to its laws and regulations.
According to the Regulation of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia No.37/Permen-KP/2017 Illegal Fishing is an unauthorized fishery activity or fishery activity carried out contrary to the provisions of laws and regulations in the field of fisheries.
Illegal fishing has several causes that affect the prevalence of this activity in Indonesian waters. The following factors contribute to illegal fishing: market demands due to high demand for fisheries products, lack of awareness caused by the human factor itself, conflicts between countries, economic disparity, limited funds for monitoring operations, limited monitoring facilities and infrastructure, and limited fisheries police personnel and civil servant investigators.
Illegal fishing can cause other detrimental impacts, including damage to marine ecosystems, economic losses, human rights violations, reduction of fish populations, reduction of opportunities for legal fishermen, threats to the sustainability of fish resources, reduced livelihoods of local fishermen, including reduced state revenues and loss of foreign exchange. Therefore, eradicating illegal fishing is very important to protect marine resources and the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems.
Causal loop diagram
Damage to marine ecosystems can also be caused by human factors and limited monitoring facilities and infrastructure. Damage to marine ecosystems can lead to economic losses, threats to the sustainability of fish resources and reduction of fish populations. Economic losses are not only caused by illegal fishing and marine ecosystem damage, but also by conflicts between countries, reduction of fish populations and reduction of opportunities for legal fishermen.
Reduction in fish population caused by damage to marine ecosystems and illegal fishing can cause economic losses and threats to the sustainability of fish resources. Reduced opportunities for legal fishers caused by illegal fishing can cause economic losses and reduced livelihoods for local fishers. The reduced livelihoods of local fishers are not only caused by illegal fishing, but also by economic losses and reduced opportunities for legal fishers due to economic inequality.
Illegal fishing is a serious problem affecting many countries, including Indonesia. The Indonesian government has taken several steps to address this problem, including ship sinking, criminal sanctions and strengthening of safeguards.