Illegal fishing boats blown up in Indonesian waters

[wetb4igetinthewater]

The penalties for poaching have to be extremely severe so as to outweigh the risk. Whether it is prison time, destroying boats, or even deadly force (no, I am not advocating it). There has to be a huge disincentive to even risk the endeavor.

One of the things I remember from my soc101 professor was that for a criminal justice system it needed to have punishment be swift, severe, and sure. I think the first two criteria are easy in a practical sense, but the third criteria is more difficult. The seas are large, so catching poachers is no small task, given the limited resources of some of those countries.

 

[NYCNaiad]

Whilst I agree there needs to be strong deterrent to illegal fishing and is possibly going to be effective for protecting Indonesian waters, and the wrecks may provide some artificial reefs, this doesn't seem like the most environmentally sensitive way of going about things. Are there not residual fuels and oil and other pollutants on those boats? I'm sure they try to get most of the fuel out but it doesn't take much to cause a problem....

That is a fantastic point! I don't know why I didn't think of that. They should do something that makes a statement though so perhaps impounding the boats & giving them away in a lottery to local legal fishermen might be an interesting solution instead (or directly to the local fisherman who reported the illegal boat). This could also encourage fishermen to report on illegal activities & encourage legal fishing.

 

[UFOrb]

They should do something that makes a statement though so perhaps impounding the boats & giving them away in a lottery to local legal fishermen might be an interesting solution instead (or directly to the local fisherman who reported the illegal boat).

I like this idea. Or they could confiscate the boats, decommission them properly and then sink them. This may not be as spectacular, with no big explosions and black smoke, but they could still publicise it. I'm sure it would get back to other potential illegal fishermen.

 

[AfterDark]

Whilst I agree there needs to be strong deterrent to illegal fishing and is possibly going to be effective for protecting Indonesian waters, and the wrecks may provide some artificial reefs, this doesn't seem like the most environmentally sensitive way of going about things. Are there not residual fuels and oil and other pollutants on those boats? I'm sure they try to get most of the fuel out but it doesn't take much to cause a problem.

I voted option 1 by the way.

I'm not so sure that it doesn't take much to cause a problem. There were tens of thousands of gallons of oil released during WWII some WWII wrecks are still leaking oil; the USS Arizona comes to mind. Truk had a wreck that leaked for 60years until the USN pumped the remaining oil out. The frailty of the ocean is greatly overstated.

The overfishing there boats are used for will do more damage than sinking them with full oil tanks, IMO.

These countries need submarines so they can blow these A-holes out of the water when they catch'em in the act. A few dead crews along with a their ships would really catch their attention, IMO.

Like I tell people, there are many that should thank the creator that I am in charge of nothing; I have very little tolerance for this kind of nonsense.