Don\'t Ignore Fishermen

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

The crew of a fishing boat unloads the catch of mackerel from the Karimata Strait while leaning at Muara Angke Port, Jakarta, Sunday (4/10/2020).

The problems of traditional fishermen are very complicated. The government must pay more attention to them, especially to small-scale fishermen, for the sake of national resilience.

A Kompas report earlier this week showed the complexity of the matter. This complexity emerges not only in the upstream portion of the industry but also in the downstream portion, such as in the processing of fish.

The problems include the quality of the resources of both traditional and modern fishermen; fishing facilities and infrastructure such as fishing gear; the availability of boats, fuel, fishing ports, fish coolers; and post-capture problems such as fish processing and marketing.

Also read: Waiting for the Government Consistency

Fishermen also face weather challenges that limit the number of days they can spend at sea. They sometimes face aggressive foreign fishermen in areas near international waters and must contend with the effects of climate change. A number of studies have shown that global warming is raising the temperature of the Earth’s seas and oceans, which may have an impact on the reproduction and migration patterns of fish.

The sea accounts for about 70 percent of the total area of Indonesia, which has the second-longest aggregate coastline in the world. The Indonesian seas are also rich as they are migration and reproduction areas for high-value fish such as bluefin tuna. However, fishermen remain the single poorest group of people in the country, as indicated by 2017 national census data.

Also read: Fishermen Need Alignment

In the agricultural sector, the government has paid great attention since the 1960s to activities such as research, production, marketing and the improvement of the farmers\' resources. However, the same attention has not been paid to the nation’s fisheries – and particularly its fishermen.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

A small crab fishing boat moored at the Karangsong estuary, Indramayu Regency, West Java, Monday (26/10/2020). For more than a month small fishermen have not gone to sea because of the lack of catch.

The government needs to empower fishermen to encourage young people who are interested in developing our seas. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) shows that 2,047,901 fishing households and small-scale fishing companies existed in the country in 2000. However, by 2006, that number had declined to 965,756.

Economic inequality also occurs in fishing communities. To break the chain of poverty, fishermen and their children need education and training, including to develop a habit of investing for the future. They need to know how to fish sustainably, use modern fishing boats and process and market their catch, as well as master skills to be able to work in other fields when the fishing season ends. There must be scientific research to support such programs.

Also read: Double Plight of Small Fishermen

Fishermen also need fishing infrastructure and facilities, including access to financing and markets. No less important is an institution that can ensure the empowerment of workers in the fishing industry, from upstream to downstream, to manage the sector sustainably.

It was not an overreaction for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to establish the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister. Fishermen must be taken care of in an integrated and comprehensive way. Success is measured by improvements in fishermen’s welfare and in the sustainable use of our marine resources for the welfare of all Indonesians.