Illegal Fishing and Associated Crimes as Contemporary Challenges to Indonesia’s Maritime Security. Tuesday, 12 October 2021, 6.30 PM
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in London,
30 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2BU
Dr. Ioannis Chapsos, Assistant Professor and the Research Lead in Maritime Security at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), will give a talk about challenges to Indonesia’s maritime security.
Maritime security increasingly draws international attention due to the high cost inflicted on the global economy and loss of human lives at sea. Modern piracy, terrorism, fisheries crime and smuggling of migrants by sea are only a few of the maritime insecurities which have made the headlines during the last decade and challenge states in social, political, economic and development terms.
This presentation will briefly introduce the concept of maritime security before turning its focus on Indonesia, the biggest archipelagic country in the world. With vast maritime zones, 17,000 islands and dependence on the blue economy for the country’s sustainable development, Indonesia inevitably faces a range of significant maritime security challenges, with illegal fishing and fisheries crimes identified by key stakeholders in the country as the most prominent ones.
Research findings from three different (yet related) projects in Indonesia will be presented, outlining how illegal fishing and fisheries crimes manifest themselves in Indonesia, by examining the notorious cases of Benjina and Ambon in 2015, where more than 2,000 fishers were rescued from slavery conditions. Furthermore, by utilising primary data collected from 5 remote fishing community leaders, it will present how illegal fishing and fisheries crimes affect these communities and the interrelated environmental (depletion of resources), socio-economic (unbridled illegal activities at sea), cultural (favouritism) and political (weak marine governance) dimensions of IUU fishing as experienced at the local level.
Given the limited space available, if you are planning to attend the event in person at the Embassy, please register here. You must be double vaccinated and show a negative Covid-19 lateral flow test prior to entering the building. This regulation may change depending on the development of the Covid-19 situation. We are hoping to also have the option for people to join via Zoom. More information will be given in the next newsletter/event reminder.
