JAKaRTA. Twelve foreign fishing vessels have been found to be operating illegally in Indonesian waters, despite the government's tough measures of sinking vessels that are caught fishing illegally.

The 115 Task Force, which monitors the illegal movement of sea vessels, detected the 12 boats when they entered the waters off Biak in Papua province, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Wednesday in Jakarta.

“The ships came from Taiwan, China and Japan,” Susi told journalists at a press conference as reported by kompas.com, adding that she had sent letters of protest to the three countries.

The activities of the 12 boats that operates 80 miles into the Indonesian waters were detected through a data-sharing partnership with Global Fishing Watch.

Apart from sending protest letters to the three countries, Susi, in her capacity as the 115 Task Force, has called on Interpol to investigate the vessels' operations.

Since Susi's ministerial appointment in 2014, Indonesia has sunk more than 300 foreign fishing vessels after they were found guilty of operating illegally in the Indonesian waters. (bbn)

Editor: Dessy Rosalina