Jakarta, June 10 (Antara) - Certain fishery units in the country still
import fish as raw material for their production amid efforts to boost
fish output at home and improve the welfare of local fishermen.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti admitted that
there were fishery units which still rely on imports but the number of
these industries is small. Different restaurants also still import
salmon fish to serve their customers.
Fish imports have been going on from the past, Susi said. "Fish imports
have been there from the past, but now it is more open to the public,"
Minister Susi told the Parliament during a hearing with Commission IV on
agricultural affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta
Wednesday (June 8).
Therefore, the government will improve the logistics in the fishery
sector in an effort to reduce fish imports. The improvement of the
logistics mechanism in the maritime and fisheries sector will reduce the
import of the commodity in the future.
"If the logistics system is good, the import of fish will come down," Minister Susi said.
Deputy Chairman of Commission IV of the DPR Herman Khoirun expressed
concern over the finding of some 2,000 tons of cakalang (a kind of tuna)
fish imported through Muara Baru Port here recently.
He questioned whether the import of fish in large volumes was a result
of the regulations issued by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry
(KKP). The ministry had issued a moratorium in the issuance of permits
for fishing vessels.
The People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) in a separate place
said the import of fish as allowed by the KKP reduced the
competitiveness of national fish production. "Imported fish will have an
impact and influx on supermarkets and traditional markets in the
country if it is not followed by serious efforts to build the fishery
industry at home," Secretary General of Kiara Abdul Halim said in
Jakarta Monday (June 6).
This could end the competitive edge of fishery products in the country,
he said. It would also cause crew members of fishing vessels to change
their profession.
This all could hamper efforts to increase production at home and reduce
imports. Some claimed that production could be increased by cutting
taxes imposed on fishery companies.
However, fishery businesses said reducing taxes applicable to fishery
companies will not reduce Indonesia's dependence on fish imports, but
improving logistics in various regions will make a difference, a fishery
business association has said.
"Leaving
tax reduction aside, I think the main problem is that the fishing
vessels at home must be optimized," Herwindo, the chairman of the
Indonesian Fisheries Business Association (Gappindo), told Antara in
Jakarta on Friday.
He noted that there certainly are some people whose idea is that tax on
fishery companies should be reduced to help them boost production and
bring down imports.
Legislator Herman Khoirun had on Wednesday expressed concern over the
finding of some 2,000 tons of cakalang fish imported through the Muara
Baru Port here recently.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has claimed that
the moratorium on fishing vessel permits has had a positive impact and
fishery products are now found in abundance.
Herwindo, however, countered that claim, saying the current condition
of fishing in the country did not reflect that. Had domestic production
been abundant, there would not have been such significant imports, he
added.
As reported earlier, the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen Association
(KNTI) had expressed the view that it was ironical that on one hand, the
country was pursuing a policy to import fish in order to cover the
shortage of raw materials for fish processing industries, while on the
other hand, there are claims that national fish production is on the
rise.
"This
policy hurts small fishermen who actually pin their hopes on the
government. After all, it is being claimed that the fishery gross
domestic product (GDP) is increasing," KNTI Deputy Secretary General,
Niko Amrullah, opined.
He contended that the policy to import fish ran counter to the
government's policy in the upstream fishery sector. Opening the fish
processing sector to investment should be in line with the desire to
absorb the fish production of fishermen at home.
"What needs to be done now is to absorb the fish catch, particularly
from small fishermen, while ensuring that fishermen can access the
government's micro business (KUR) credits so that capital no longer
remains the main problem for them," he suggested.
Earlier,
Director General of Maritime and Fisheries Products Competitiveness
Promotion of the KKP, Nilanto Perbowo, underlined that the import of
fish into Indonesia is tightly supervised.
"Regarding the importation of fish, the KKP maintains a tight control
and supervision. Imports are permitted while paying due attention to the
principles of the utilization of the maritime and fishery resources,"
stated Nilanto Perbowo.
According
to him, the KKP also considers the principles of food resilience,
nutrition, quality guarantee, food security and the continuation of
traditional and industrial exports.
He reminded that fish
imports are based on several important principles that prioritize the
national food interest and sovereignty.
"The first principle is with regard to the species of the imported, and
import is only allowed if the stock of fish of the same species in
Indonesia is not adequate. It is meant for use by export-oriented
industries and by the fish canning industries or by traditional fish
processing sector," he noted.
The second principle is that the fish import is allowed only as a
short-term solution to ensure that raw material availability is there.
The third principle is that the imported fish must not harm the health of consumers and water environment.
"The fourth principle is the most important one, namely providing a
chance to develop the fish processing business, both for traditional
players and at industrial level," he explained.***3***a014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 10-06-2016 20:21:1 |
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