NAVY PATROL ARRESTS NINE PHILIPPINE FISHING BOATS IN MOROTAI

Ternate, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - A Naval patrol and Morotai Marine and Fishery Agency patrol arrested nine Philippine fishing boats illegally operating in Morotai waters.

Head of the Morotai Island Regency Marine and Fishery agency Ismail said from Ternate Tuesday the nine Philippine fishing boats had been arrested when mooring in South Morotai Subdistrict waters last Saturday.

The nine Philippine fishing boats included two fish receiving boats, two trawlers, and five ordinary fishing boats. They all flew the Indonesian flags.

Ismail said the 88 crew members were also arrested, 44 of them were Philippine and the rest Indonesian nationals.

Security personnel are currently still interrogating the crew members of the nine Philippine fishing boats and if they had been proven to have broken the law, they will be further processed according to the law.

"Foreign fishermen, especially from the Philippines, had often been reported to be engaged in illegal fishing in Morotai waters," he said.