By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta,
June 26 (Antara) - Indonesia is preparing its fisheries sector to face
the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), when trade,
service, and other business sectors, including fisheries, will be
liberalized in the region.
The government, in this case the Ministry of Marine Affairs and
Fisheries (KKP), is drafting work plans for implementation during the
next five years. These work schemes are expected to be implemented by
the new government, which will begin its term of office this October.
The
two presidential candidates who will compete in the coming elections
have promised to focus their attention on fisheries sector. According to
the Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), the marine and fisheries sector
has received serious attention for the first time from the current
presidential and vice presidential candidates.
"This
is the first time in the history of the general elections in the
reforms era that two presidential candidate pairs have focused their
attention on the marine and fisheries sector," IGJ Executive Director M
Riza Damanik said.
Damanik, who is also the chief patron of the Indonesian Traditional
Fishermen Association (KNTI), noted that the two presidential pairs
seemed to have a strong desire in improving the conditions of fishermen.
The seriousness of the current government in preparing measures for the
development of the fisheries sector in the coming five years is
reflected in the ongoing drafting of a master plan by the KKP.
In
this regard, the KKP has been cooperating with the Sustainable
Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and fish-processing companies or exporters
in Indonesia to support the sustainable development of the fisheries
sector, according to a recent statement by Fishery Marketing and
Processing Director General at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Ministry Saut Hutagalung.
Currently, the KKP is drawing a master plan for the development of cultured fish in the country.
"The KKP, in cooperation with the international organization WorldFish,
is drafting a National Master Plan for Cultured Fish Cultivation up to
the year 2020," KKP Secretary General Sjarief Widjaja said here on
Thursday.
He noted that the master plan was in line with a research project on
the "Aquaculture Futures Indonesia" that was expected to be completed in
the coming 18 months.
The secretary general said his office had always asked stakeholders,
including international nonprofit organizations, to cooperate in working
out polices in the fisheries sector.
The ministry is of the view that fish supplies must continue to be
maintained, in terms of not only stocks of fish caught by fishermen but
also fresh water fish produced through fish pond cultivation.
Widjaja said, "Aquaculture Futures Indonesia 2020" was a KKP-WorldFish
collaboration project aimed at comprehensively increasing fish
consumption and fish production.
The project also included scenarios of fish supplies and fish demands
in the future. It developed understanding of opportunities and
challenges in sustainable fishery development in Indonesia, he said.
Cultured fish development scheme showcased the government's attention
to this sector, which was believed to become a mainstay in the future,
noted Sjarif Widjaja.
"The cultured fish sector will become a mainstay in the future,
although many had doubts about cultured fish cultivation in the past,"
the KKP secretary general stated on Wednesday.
Widjaja pointed out that fish had gained recognition as a major food
product, which supported national food resilience and encouraged
regional economic development.
"In the past, we had always discussed about rice, sugar, soybean, meat,
and cooking oil when we met the chief economic ministers. Since 2013,
fish has also featured in our discussions," Widjaja explained.
He added that people have started paying attention to the fish species of Bandeng (milk fish), tuna, and mackerel.
"After 65 years of independence, fish is now being recognized as a food
product whose inflationary impact has also begun to be accounted for,
which has now reached 0.14 percent," Widjaja added.
Therefore, the current government's plans and programs in the fishery
sector must be implemented by the next government in an effort to
reinforce the foundation of the country's fisheries in the face of the
ASEAN liberalized market, which will begin at the end of 2015.
Indonesia will hold a presidential election on July 9, 2014. The next president will be inaugurated in October.
"Whoever is elected will automatically be required to respond to the
AEC," M Riza Damanik, who is also chief patron of the Indonesian
Traditional Fishermen Association (KNTI), said.
He
explained that one of the 12 priority fields that will be liberalized
in the framework of the AEC was the fisheries sector. This was a
reality, which the two presidential candidates had to respond to.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's fishery production has continued to increase from
4 million tons in 2008 to 13 million tons at present.
"The growth in fish production, both caught and cultured, is not
something extraordinary because Indonesia has abundant fish resources,"
Riza Damanik added. The other issues in the fisheries sector were
classic, including development of infrastructures such as ports.
At present, according to Damanik, the development of ports in the
western Indonesian regions is about 70 percent, while that in the
eastern regions is only about 20-25 percent.
"Distribution
of fishery products has increasingly become a problem, while the costs
are also becoming higher and higher," he added.
So,
development of infrastructural facilities is a necessity and essential
for the fisheries sector in the face of liberalization during the
Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community. ***2***
(T.A014/INE/H-YH)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/B/BESSR/A/Yosep) 26-06-2014 17:02: |
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