Criminal Law Enforcement Barriers Against Illegal Fishing Offenders in Indonesian Marine Waters

Abstract

Indonesia is an archipelagic state with abundant marine resources and one of the world's most strategic maritime jurisdictions. However, this potential is accompanied by persistent threats from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Illegal fishing not only causes substantial economic losses to the state, but also damages marine ecosystems, weakens the welfare of traditional fishers, and challenges state sovereignty over marine resources. Although Indonesian fisheries law provides criminal sanctions against offenders, law enforcement in practice remains constrained by overlapping institutional authority, limited patrol fleets and surveillance technology, budgetary limitations, broad maritime jurisdiction, and the difficulty of reaching corporate beneficiaries behind fishing crimes. This study aims to analyze the criminal law enforcement barriers against illegal fishing offenders in Indonesian marine waters and formulate strategic legal solutions to strengthen the protection of Indonesia's marine sovereignty. This research uses normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and institutional approaches. The findings show that the main barriers are not merely normative, but structural and operational. Therefore, legal reform must be directed toward harmonizing maritime law enforcement authority, strengthening an integrated coast guard model, modernizing surveillance through vessel monitoring systems and satellite-based technology, and applying a follow-the-money approach to reach corporate actors and beneficial owners. This study concludes that effective eradication of illegal fishing requires an integrated criminal law enforcement model that combines institutional coordination, technological surveillance, economic sanctions, and corporate accountability.