Australia detains 22 fishermen from East Java harvesting sea cucumbers
Two groups were arrested over a period of two weeks. The first arrests took place on Sept. 22 when nine fishermen from Tonduk village on Raas Island were arrested by Australian authorities. The second group was arrested was on Oct. 8 with 13 fishermen detained, all from the same village.
Two groups of fishermen from East Java, Indonesia, were detained by Australian authorities over a two-week period for harvesting sea cucumbers in Australian waters. The first group of nine men from Tonduk village on Raas Island was apprehended on September 22, while the second group of 13 men from the same village was arrested on October 8.
The detained fishermen, all from Sumenep regency on Madura Island, were identified by the central government and regional administrations in East Java. They were working on the KM Rukun Desa vessel when they were apprehended for harvesting sea cucumbers, a high-value commodity that serves as the primary livelihood for fishermen from Raas Island. The fishermen have been in the practice of seeking teripang, or sea cucumber, in Australian territory for generations.
The head of catch fishery resources supervision department at Sumenep Fisheries Agency, Moh. Ibnu Hajar, confirmed the arrests but stated that his office only became aware of the incident after the East Java Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency sought confirmation of the fishermen's identities. Hajar emphasized that there is no additional information regarding the ongoing process following the arrests.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
