Indonesia has made a great effort to eradicate illegal fishing, indicated by the success of its lobbying to increase global awareness about illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. "Indonesia is very advanced (related to eradicating illegal fishing)," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, said in Jakarta on Monday.

Pudjiastuti opined that Indonesia had managed to encourage the G20 Summit Forum to recognize IUU Fishing as a crime that must be taken seriously.

The Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries also emphasized the importance of a commitment from various parties.

Susi revealed that one way to achieve this commitment was by inviting other countries to share their Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data.

Previously, the Indonesian Marine Scholarship Association (Iskindo) appreciated the agreement during the G20 Forum regarding Indonesia's initiative and leadership in eradicating the practice of IUU fishing or illegal fishing.

"This agreement will be of concern to the G20 countries in providing support for efforts to reduce the practice of IUU around the world, although the agreement is not binding," Iskindo's chairman, Moh Abdi Suhufan, said.

In the G20 forum, which took place in Osaka, Japan, on June 28 and 29, 2019, leaders of the G20 countries committed to tackling IUU fishing activities globally.

Through this success, the Iskindo gave a token of appreciation to the Indonesian delegation at the meeting.

With such an agreement, he continued, the IUU issue would be of concern to the G20 countries within the framework of global cooperation.

"We appreciate the Indonesian government which has consistently been combating IUU fishing activities and has opened the eyes of the world to the mode, crime, impact, and methods of eradicating IUU fishing activities through a legal approach," Suhufan emphasized. (ANTARA)