About 28 fishermen from Indonesia who were caught illegally fishing in PNG waters would be handed over to Immigration officers and would be detained at the Bomana Immigration Centre (BIC) awaiting full investigation and charges, the Chief Migration Officer Stanis Hulahau announced.
The fishermen were caught with a substantial amount of fish within the Papua New Guinea Exclusive Economic Zone along the Dogleg area of Western Province this week.
Hulahau said the fishermen, all from Bali, Indonesia were caught by the PNG Defence Force Maritime Element on HMS Sukundumi and were brought to Port Moresby and are being investigated by relevant State Agencies.
“We will detain them at BIC while investigations are going on,” the Chief Migration Officer said.
Hulahau said the fisherman would be subjected to the full force of the law and ICSA will impose appropriate charges under the Migration Act after the investigations are completed.
Hulahau said the PNG Defence Force maritime element brought them to Port Moresby and were being investigated by National Fisheries Authority, National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority, Immigration and Police Transnational Crime Unit.
He said they would be detained at the Bomana Immigration Centre, Port Moresby, awaiting full investigation and charges.
Hulahau said the fisherman would be subjected to the full force of the law and Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority would impose appropriate charges under the Migration Act after the investigations were completed. It is understood, this is not the first time fishermen were caught in the country’s waters. Three years ago, captains of two Indonesian fishing boats and their crews caught illegally fishing in PNG waters were fined a total of K440,000 (US$12,407) by a Grade Five Court in Waigani.