TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Forestry and Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti discovered a tax revenue potential of Rp 209.1 billion a year that the state loses from illegal fishing.

"That is the amount that should be paid by 187 taxpayers," Susi said on Tuesday, June 29 at the State Palace, when delivering a report to the Illegal Fishing Task Force.

Susi said her ministry and the Tax Directorate General are still working on recovering the lost taxes.

Since its formation, the Illegal Fishing Task Force has audited 1,132 foreign ships carrying the Indonesian flag, revoked licenses, and sunk boats. Susi said that 176 boats were blown up for poaching. Next month the Task Force will sink 30 more poachers.

The Ministry has revoked 291 and frozen 261 fishing licenses, and sent 48 warning letters to foreign ships sailing with an Indonesian flag.

Meanwhile, the ministry also exercised pro justitia measures by handling human trafficking cases in Benjina, Ambon, Pontianak. Susi said that 1.152 people from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have become human trafficking victims.

On April 16, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced that Indonesia incurs up to Rp101 trillion each year from illegal fishing practices. Gilles Blanchi, chief technical advisor for the European Union-UNDP SUSTAIN Project, said Indonesia's law enforcement agencies must cooperate and coordinate to combat poaching.

Illegal fishing, Blanchi said, is heavily related to other crimes including human trafficking, drug smuggling, and illegal weapons dealing and smuggling.

Indonesia needs to strengthen its reinforcements to combat illegal fishing, as the country only has 10 fishery courts. To that end, the UNDP is working with the Supreme Court to develop the EU-UNDP SUSTAIN project.

ADITYA BUDIMAN | ANGELINA ANJAR | DEVY ERNIS