JAKARTA: Indonesia says it has won a two-year court battle that confirms the legality of the government's seizure of a Thai vessel linked to human trafficking and illegal fishing in Indonesian waters. Several months before its capture, the ship and Thai fishing trawlers had abruptly left an island in remote eastern Indonesia, where the Thai fishing industry held trafficked crew members captive, to escape a government crackdown on illegal fishing. DNA testing was used to prove that the $1.5 million of fish on board was from Indonesian waters. It was captured by an Indonesian navy vessel off the island of Sumatra after returning to Indonesian waters. However, the global seafood industry continues to be plagued by illegal fishing and labour abuses at sea.

Source: Bangkok Post October 28, 2017 06:56 UTC