Corruption Endangers World’s Shrinking Fisheries. WASHINGTON As Indonesia’s fisheries minister, Edhy Prabowo was tasked with protecting one of his country’s most precious resources: baby lobsters so tiny one can fit them on the tip of a finger. The.
Fu Ting, Grace Ekpu & Helen Wieffering WASHINGTON (AP) – As Indonesia’s fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo was tasked with protecting one of his country’s most precious resources: baby lobsters so tiny one can fit on the tip of a finger. The waters off the nation’s many islands and archipelagos had once teemed with lobster. But […]
AS Indonesia’s fisheries minister, Edhy Prabowo was tasked with protecting one of his country’s most precious resources: baby lobsters so tiny one can fit on the tip of a finger.
The waters off Indonesia's many islands and archipelagos had once teemed with lobster, but overfishing in recent decades decimated the crustacean’s population.
Corruption is undermining the management of some of the world’s most threatened fishing grounds. That's according to a review of criminal case files and media reports by The Associated Press. At least 45 government officials have been accused of graft or extortion in the past two decades. The allegations range from high-ranking officials accepting large payments from fishing companies to obtain lucrative contracts to low-level civil servants accepting a few thousand dollars to ignore fishermen bringing illegal catch ashore. The situation is most critical in areas managed by developing nations because many industrialized countries have already overfished their own waters, forcing their fleets to go far.