FISHERMEN FROM NORTHERN JAVA TO BE RELOCATED TO NATUNA

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 22 (Antara) - The government is planning to build houses on Natuna Islands, Riau Islands Province, for the fishermen from Java's northern coastal areas (Pantura) as part of its program to develop the small islands and border areas.          "I will leave for Natuna tomorrow to prepare everything needed for the construction of houses for Pantura fishermen to boost the fisheries sector in the islands' waters," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti noted in a written statement in Jakarta on Thursday.          Susi stated that the construction of houses was part of the government's plan, in this case the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, to build villages for fishermen.          To this end, the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries (KKP) will build cold storages and detention facilities for those caught poaching in Natuna.          The government is planning to sink more boats caught poaching in the Indonesian waters in Natuna, Riau Islands Province, on August 17.          "There will be an August 17 (Independence Day) celebration in the most isolated and outermost islands. It is planned in Natuna. We want the commemoration to coincide with the sinking of the boats," Minister Susi affirmed here, Monday (July 18).

"JARING" PROGRAM TO IMPROVE FISHERMEN'S WELFARE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 23 (Antara) - Partner banks of the Coverage, Synergy and Guideline (Jaring) program are expected to expand credits up to Rp9.2 trillion this year for developing the maritime and fisheries sector and improving the fishermen's welfare.          "Credit disbursement for the Jaring program this year will hopefully amount to Rp9.2 trillion, up by 24.2 percent from Rp6.69 trillion in 2015," Financial Services Authority (OJK) Commissioner Muliaman D. Hadad noted in a press statement issued in Jakarta on Thursday (May 19).      Initiated by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) and OJK, the Jaring scheme is aimed at improving the welfare of fishermen and advancing small- and medium-scale enterprises doing business in the maritime and fisheries sector.          The KKP is keen to develop synergy between the fishermen and exporters of fishery products in a bid to increase the country's export performance in the fishery sector.

FISHERMEN NEED PROTECTION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 28 (Antara)  - Fishermen who are key players in providing fish protein for the nation need to be developed and protected so that they could increase production and improve welfare.          Fishermen protection has been regulated in Law on Protection of Fishermen, Cultured Fish Breeders and Salt Farmers. About seven million fishermen who live in the coastal areas in the country still remain poor.         "The government should draft Government Regulations (PP) and bylaws to ensure the on-field implementation of the law in line with the people's aspirations," lawmaker Akmal Pasluddin  said in Jakarta on Tuesday.          The fishermen should also be covered with an insurance scheme. The fishermen's insurance is one of the priority programs of the Marine and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) in its efforts to boost the prosperity of fishermen and to protect some one million of them in Indonesia.          However, based on data at the KKP, only 715 thousand Indonesians held fishermen ID cards. Possessing a fisherman's ID card and being covered under the development of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Service is one of the prerequisites to becoming a holder of the fishermen's insurance policy.

DOWNSTREAM FISHERY DEVELOPMENT KEY TO IMPROVING FISHERMEN'S WELFARE

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 21 (Antara) - After some progress was achieved in the upstream sector, the country now needs to encourage the development of the downstream fishery industry in an effort to offer opportunities to idle fishermen and improve their welfare.          The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) has implemented various policies in the upstream sector to fight illegal fishing, ban transshipment at sea, disallow the operations of fishing vessels of certain tonnage, and prohibit the use of certain fishing devices.          Although poaching had reduced with the implementation of the policy, yet fish production has slowed down, and millions of fishermen and fishing boat crew members have become idle.          In the meantime, the development of downstream fisheries is yet to show substantial results, in terms of boosting the welfare of the fishermen.          The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) believed that KKP Minister Susi Pudjiastuti had applied a good policy with regard to the upstream sector. However, Kadin suggested that the minister should also intensively empower the fishery industry from the upstream to downstream areas.

JAKARTA RECLAMATION AFFECTS THOUSANDS OF FISHERMEN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 9 (Antara) - Fishermen in Muara Angke in North Jakarta are the most affected by the ambitious giant sea wall and reclamation project in North Jakarta coastal area around the Jakarta Bay.          The Indonesian Traditional Fishermen Association (KNTI) said reclamation of 17 islands in the Jakarta Bay has cut the income of local fishermen by about 40 to 50 percent.          "Obviously, it has had a big impact on the economy of traditional fishermen as their income has come down by 40 to 50 percent," KNTI chief patron Chalid Muhammad said during a public discussion in Jakarta on Saturday (April 9).           In the discussion, Chalid said thousands of fishermen have been alienated and now find that they have restricted access to fishing since the Jakarta Bay in North Jakarta has been privatized, thanks to the reclamation of man-made islands.           "Fishermen's catch has dropped drastically and the quality of the Jakarta sea water has deteriorated. The reclamation has made the waters turbid, so fishermen have to sail far away for fishing," he said.

FISHERY POLICY MUST BENEFIT SMALL-SCALE FISHERMEN

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 24 (Antara) - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has claimed to have achieved success in fighting fish poaching in the country's waters, thereby resulting in an increase in fish catch.         While illegal fishing has been drastically reduced, the KKP also made assurance that fish catch transshipment at sea for direct sales overseas has been stopped. All the caught fish will first be taken to the country's fishing ports.     However, this success should also benefit the 7.8 million poor fishermen living in the coastal areas in order to improve their welfare.          The People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) has also called on the KKP to pay attention to traditional fishermen in the coastal areas. It should not merely focus on implementing measures to improve fish stocks in the waters but also increase the prosperity of fishermen.          "We need to emphasize that the management of fisheries resources should not be confined to solely handling fish stocks but also protecting and empowering fishermen, so that the well-being of poor fishermen in the coastal areas would be improved," Kiara Secretary General Abdul Halim noted on Monday (Nov. 23).

INNOVATION NEEDED TO IMPROVE FISHERMEN'S WELFARE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 22 (Antara) -- The management of the fisheries sector needs to be changed from being exploitation-oriented to innovation-oriented so the welfare of fishermen can be improved.          "We must have the courage to change our management system from being exploitation-oriented and adopt innovative approaches," Chairman of the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen Association (KNTI) Riza said on Sunday.          The KNTI wants all stakeholders in the fisheries sector to give priority to a management system that leans more towards innovation and sustainability to guarantee the future of the fisheries sector and fishermen.          Damanik added that without Indonesian Fishery Processing Units (UPI) improving the distribution system, the country will be trapped in the web of exploitative management. This system is prone to damaging the environment, narrowing employment opportunities and corrupting added values, which can all lead to poverty.          It is ironic that a number of provinces rich in fisheries resources lack adequate UPIs, such as Papua and Maluku which have only 1,524, or about 3 percent of the total UPIs in Indonesia, the KNTI chairman stated.

FISHERMEN CALL FOR THOROUGH ELIMINATION OF POACHERS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 6 (Antara) - Indonesian fishermen on National Fishermen's Day on Monday called for the thorough elimination of illegal fishing, including those financing poachers, so that fishermen's welfare can be improved.          "National Fishermen's Day 2015 is observed across the country, especially in Banda Aceh, Buton, Manado, Semarang, and Jakarta," Secretary-General of the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (Kiara) Abdul Halim said on Monday.          Illegal fishing in Indonesian waters by large foreign vessels is one of the factors affecting traditional fishermen who are struggling to improve their prosperity.          Operations to eliminate illegal fishing from Indonesian waters should not be restricted to seizing illegal fishing boats. It should also take to court large companies providing financial backing for poachers.          Therefore, on the occasion of the fishermen's day, he noted, several activities are held in various regions focusing on ways to improve the welfare of fishermen who are still living in poverty.

GOVT URGED TO TAKE STERN ACTION AGAINST SLAVERY

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 5 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is expected to take stern measures against companies operating fishing ships which practice slavery in the fishery sector.          "The disclosure of the slavery practice in Benjina, Aru Island, Maluku, indicates that the upholding of the law in the fishery sector in the past five months has not yet created significant deterrent effects," Indonesian Traditional Fishermen's Association (KNTI) General Chairman M Riza Damanik said here on Sunday.          The KNTI called on related parties, including the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) to investigate the alleged report of slavery practices in the fishery sector.          "The slavery case of fishermen in Indonesian waters should thoroughly be investigated,"  M Riza Damanik has earlier said.          Several international media outlets such as the Associated Press of the US have reported the slavery of boat crews employed by the company that conducts fishing in Indonesia.

LIMITATION OF DIESEL OIL SALE AFFECTS FISHERMEN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, 19 (Antara) - State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina's move to limit the sale of subsidized diesel oil has affected fishermen in North Jakarta's Muara Angke Traditional Fishing Port and cut their fish production by about 50 percent.          Some fishermen at Muara Angke have, in the past two months, not taken out their boats for fishing due to scarce diesel oil. Some fishing vessels have had to wait for one month in queue to receive subsidized diesel fuel.          Pertamina has been limiting the sale of its subsidized diesel oil in order to economize on the subsidized quota which, if its sale is not limited, will run out by December 6, 2014.          Fishing vessels have to wait in queue up to one month since Pertamina limited the sale of its subsidized diesel oil last August.          "This happens because the volume of diesel oil distributed to us is less than the need of fishermen at Muara Angke," Bagus Rudiyono, manager of Fishermen's Fuel Refilling Stations (SPBBN) in Muara Angke, said on Thursday.

GOVERNMENT URGED TO RECOGNIZE ROLE OF FISHERWOMEN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 27 (Antara) - The government needs to recognize the important role of fisherwomen in the family and take them into account when it is working on the budget for the fishery sector.          Data released by the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) indicated that about 48 percent of fishermen's family income was contributed by fisherwomen. Most fisherwomen spent some 17 hours a day to contribute 48 percent of the family income.          "Therefore, the government should recognize fisherwomen's important roles and take them into account when it is drafting a funding budget in the fishery sector," Kiara Secretary General Abdul Halim said on Monday.          He said Kiara and the Indonesian Fisherwomen's Solidarity (PPNI) were fighting for the recognition of fisherwomen's roles by the government. He said the government's allocation in the marine affairs and fisheries sectors continued to increase over the past five years from Rp2 trillion to Rp7 trillion.

GOVT CLAIMS IMPROVEMENT IN FISHERMEN'S STANDARDS OF LIVING

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, March 10 (Antara) - The government claimed its Fishermen Welfare Improvement Program (PKN) launched in 2011 had succeeded in improving the welfare of Indonesia's fishermen.      "In the past when they went fishing for one week, they would earn an income of less than Rp10 million, but now they can earn Rp37 million for a week's fishing," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutarjdo said, when delivering fishing boats to fishermen as assistance, in Aceh Province on Saturday.          The minister did not elaborate whether the income of Rp37 million per week is earned by an individual fisherman or groups of fishermen. If the Rp37 million is earned by a group of ten fishermen, it means that each fisherman can now earn more than Rp500 thousand per day.

GOVT TO SERVE FISHERMEN'S INTEREST CONSISTENTLY

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, Feb 19 (Antara) - The government will consistently take side with fishermen and deal with the problem of fishing vessels of over 30 gross tons (GT) which are not allowed to use subsidized fuels.          "The government will consistently serve the interest of fishermen. We will hold a meeting to discuss the problem. The aim is to assist fishermen," Head of the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulator (BPH Migas), Andi Nur Saman Someng said on Tuesday.          In recent days, fishermen who owned fishing vessels of over 30 GT have became restless. The government's plan to lift diesel oil subsidy for ships of over 30 GT has created concerns among fishermen who considered that the government did not protect and take side with them.          A presidential regulation in 2012 stipulated that only vessels of less than 30 GT can use subsidized fuels. The presidential regulation was followed by a regulation by the minister of energy and mineral resources which stipulated that a vessel of less than 30 GT was only allowed to use a maximum of 25 kiloliters of subsidized fuel per month.          The People's Coalition of Fishery Justice (Kiara) therefore called on the government to not restrict the use of subsidized fuels by fishermen who needed the commodity to operate in Indonesian waters.          "The ban in the use of subsidized fuels is a form of violation against the basic right of fishermen," Kiara Secretary General Abdul Halim said when contacted by Antara recently.

INDONESIAN TRADITIONAL FISHERMEN REMAIN POOR

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 24 (Antara) - Over seven million traditional fishermen living in the country's coastal areas remain poor even though the government has launched a fisheries industrialization program aimed at making the development of the fishery sector a success.          "Traditional fishermen have been in the poor condition since Indonesia gained its independence and since the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG),"  Abdul Halim, secretary general of  the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), said on Sunday.          Kiara urged the government to give serious attention to traditional fishermen as they remained poor amid the implementation of its fish industrialization program.          He said that the government regulations issued to speed up industrialization program in the fishery sector had failed to improve the welfare of traditional fishermen.

FISHERMEN NEED MORE HELP

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 15 (ANTARA) - The government needs to provide more attention to over 1.4 million underdeveloped traditional fishermen living in 10,000 villages along the country's 95,181 kilometer coastal line.          In order to improve the fishermen's standard of living, the government should provide them with capital, fishing equipment, fishing vessels, a fishing infrastructure and other forms of assistance that would help them advance their fishing businesses.          Fishermen still need assistance in order to compete with large owners who use trawlers in catching fish, not only in waters near the coastal areas but also in the high seas. Moreover, Indonesian traditional fishermen often face extreme weather, such as conditions which Indonesia recently witnessed.          "So far, traditional fishermen are only able to fish within one mile from the coast line with an average fish catch of 10 kg. It is hard for them to earn even Rp50,000 per day.  Due to their operational costs, Rp50,000 is not enough to also provide a living for their families. In addition, they have to stay home when the weather is bad," legislator Ma'mur Hasanuddin of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission IV fisheries said on Monday.          Ma'mur added that the government has paid less attention to small fishermen. Many programs designed for fishermen and provided through regional fishery services or regional governments have not reached traditional fishermen.          Traditional fishermen have fought for themselves to find the capital they need to work in fishing,  but when they make some progress and seek to also process their fish, they are hampered by high interest rates for fishery loans, which are set at a range of 12 to 16 percent, Ma'mur said.          The same opinion was also aired by Vice President Boediono when addressing a national coordination meeting of the ministry of maritime and fishery affairs (KKP) in Jakarta on Tuesday.          "The KKP should give high priority to the formulation of programs that touch upon the improvement of fishermen's communities," the vice president said.          Boediono noted that of the 70,000 disadvantaged villages in Indonesia, about 10,000 are fishermen's villages. The vice president, during his visit to several fishermen's villages, learned that the welfare and settlement standards of fishermen remain very low.          The standard of living found in fishermen's villages remain far behind normal agriculture-based villages.          In a dialog with fishermen, the vice president also learned that fishermen's earnings were very low. "I was surprised to learn that a family with six kids earned only Rp30,000 per day," Boediono said.          Therefore, the vice president urged the KKP ministry to focus special attention on the development of fishermen in the country.          According to legislator Ma'mur, the most immediate attention needed by fishermen is for the KKP to provide assistance to overcome constraints created by bad weather that has so far affected 1.4 million fishermen in 33 provinces. When the weather is poor fishermen are forced to stay home for as much as one month.          He said that the KKP could actually provide them with many ways to cooperate with different parties such as regional governments, relevant ministries and private companies which have corporate service responsibility (CSR) funds available.          With the KKP initiative, the impact of bad weather could be overcome so traditional fishermen could maintain their lives and activities, the legislator said.          Besides providing assistance to overcome bad weather, the maritime and fishery ministry should also be watchful of large owners who use trawlers. Using trawlers in catching fish is a disadvantage for traditional fishermen.          "Traditional fishermen find it hard to compete with big vessels and trawlers," Ma'mur said.          However, according to Director General For Fish Catching Affairs Deddy Sutisna, the size of almost all fishing vessels operating in the country's water is below 30 gross tonnage (GT).          "Of about 500.000 fishing vessels, almost 98 percent are below 30 GT," Deddy said. Thus, only about two percent of the fishing vessel fleet could operate in waters 12 miles away or in the exclusive economic zones (EEZ).          Therefore the government is providing assistance to about 1,000 fishing vessels for fishermen. Yet, this is also criticized by some who say that the program has missed the target.          Earlier, the House Commission IV urged the government to evaluate the program for the procurement of 1,000 fishing vessels because the program has been viewed as problematic.          "Commission IV urges the government to evaluate the 1,000 fishing vessel program," Commission IV Chairman Romahurmuzy told a working meeting with the maritime and fishery minister recently.          The commission also asked the government to increase the number of fishing boats below 30 GT for fishermen.          Maritime and Fishery Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo promised to carefully monitor the fishing vessel assistance program. "We will tightly supervise the program," Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo said in Jakarta on Tuesday.          The minister said that the three variables to be considered when purchasing ships are sail worthiness, the boat must be able to stand up against bad weather and sea conditions, that it contains suitable fishing tools, and that it is equipped with facilities to handle the fish catch.***2*** (T.A014/A/INE /o001) (T.A014/A/A014/O001) 15-02-2012 14:26:5