Fishing deregulation criticized<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An academic criticized yesterday the
\ngovernment's regulation on the operation of foreign fishing
\nboats, saying it proved that deregulation of fisheries was done
\n\"half-heartedly\".<\/p>\n
Bonar Pasaribu, a lecturer at the Bogor Agricultural
\nUniversity's (IPB) Faculty of Fisheries, said the decree did not
\nencourage businesspeople to develop the industry.<\/p>\n
He said that, if the government wanted to boost the growth of
\nthe national fishing industry, it should introduce better
\nmeasures such as the provision of real facilities and incentives.<\/p>\n
\"But so far, (the government) has not done this and the latest
\ndecree of the agriculture minister shows nothing of the kind.
\nThis has been a long-time complaint of many businessmen in the
\nindustry,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The minister of agriculture issued Decree No. 957\/1996 last
\nmonth on the operation of leased fishing vessels bearing foreign
\nflags in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).<\/p>\n
The decree, dated Dec. 27, 1996, was made public on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Under the decree, chartered foreign fishing boats are now
\nrestricted to operating in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean
\nparts of the country's 200-mile EEZ.<\/p>\n
It states that leased foreign vessels are allowed to operate
\nin the EEZ only after they have gained a fishing permit from the
\nMinistry of Agriculture's Directorate General of Fishery and a
\nforeign vessel operating license from the Ministry of
\nTransportation's Directorate General of Sea Transportation.<\/p>\n
The decree, which expires Dec. 31, 1999, states that foreign
\nvessels allowed to operate in the EEZ must have a capacity over
\n800 gross tons (GT).<\/p>\n
The decree also stipulates that fishing permits and foreign
\nvessel operating licenses can only be issued if a fishing company
\nhas at least two Indonesian-made fishing boats of at least 30 GT
\neach, a cold storage with a minimum capacity of 100 tons, a
\ncanning factory, a dockyard with a minimum capacity of 150 GT or
\nan ice plant with a minimum daily capacity of 10 tons.<\/p>\n
Last July, the minister of agriculture issued a decree
\nallowing local companies to import fishing boats.<\/p>\n
Although the government considered that this was a
\nderegulatory measure, many businesspeople and observers have said
\nthat its terms were too hard and that it did not help develop
\nfisheries.<\/p>\n
Pasaribu said that, as long as red tape and several
\nrequirements prevailed, deregulation would have no meaning.<\/p>\n
\"I think there were conflicts of interest when deregulation
\nwas designed, which is probably why it's not working very well,\"
\nhe told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said the government should prove it is serious about
\ndeveloping the domestic ship-building industry.<\/p>\n
\"Large amounts of capital, technology and expertise should be
\ninvested (in the shipping industry). For this, incentives should
\nbe provided to attract investors,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"This has become more urgent now because the government
\nrequires a fishing company to own locally-built vessels before it
\ncan import,\" Pasaribu added.<\/p>\n
He said that some shipyards, such as those in Bagansiapi-api
\n(North Sumatra) and Ambon (Maluku) which build wooden ships, had
\noperated for decades and only needed more capital and new
\ntechnology to improve.<\/p>\n
He said ships of up to 250 GT were economically feasible and
\nlarge enough to operate in the EEZ.<\/p>\n
He suggested Indonesia concentrate on building fishing boats
\nmeasuring 40 GT to 60 GT. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fishing-deregulation-criticized-1447893297",
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