Two fishing boats were destroyed after being buffeted by Tropical Typhoon Ilsa, one of the strongest storms to hit Western Australia in more than a decade.
They were rescued by Australian authorities on Monday (17/4). The 11 rescued fishermen have returned to their respective homes in Rote, NTT. The
waters between NTT and Australia are areas that have traditionally been catch areas for NTT fishermen. In many cases, NTT fishermen do not even understand the limits of the territory of the two countries, since going to sea with ships is relatively small.
Wawan Abdulah, Chairman of the Indonesian Fishermen Association, at NTT explained about how local fishermen sea traditions, including why they often go out into Australian waters unknowingly.
