Credit: WCS
The trader, named Sueb, at the District Court in Surabaya, East Java. This court case is currently ongoing in Indonesia. Earlier, on 27 January, the first manta trader ever to be convicted in Indonesia was sentenced to 1 year 4 months in prison and a fine of USD $4,500. That verdict is the first law enforcement action under the new manta protection decree approved early in 2014, and represents a tough, new stance by MMAF to protect manta rays and stop illegal fishing and trading.