Prudent policy needed to boost fishing industry<\/p>\n
Maswandi, Antara, Bengkulu<\/p>\n
The rise in fuel prices, which resulted in an increase in diesel
\nfuel from Rp 4,300 (43 U.S. cents) to Rp 6,170 per liter, has had
\nan adverse impact on fishermen, many of whom have stopped
\noperating their boats.<\/p>\n
A senior government official said his office had received
\nreports from fish auction facilities in various regencies across
\nthe nation that fish production had dropped as boat owners had
\nreduced fishing activities after the fuel price hike on Oct. 1.
\nIndonesia has 240 regencies with direct access to the sea.<\/p>\n
Data in October indicated that fish production had dropped
\nconsiderably compared to the previous month, and also in the
\ncorresponding month of last year, said director of fishery
\ndevelopment at the Directorate General of Fisheries of the
\nMinistry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Sunoto MES.<\/p>\n
He would not go into details, but the drop in fish production
\ncan be seen in Bengkulu. A fishing boat owner in the province,
\nAziz, who owns four vessels, two of which weigh over 30 Gross
\nTons, said that for a single two-week fishing trip, a 30-GT
\nfishing boat consumed at least Rp 12 million worth of diesel
\nfuel. Azmi said that he operated only one or two of his four
\nboats, while mooring the rest at the wharf. \"Sometimes, the boat
\ncould return with only three tons of fish. If the average price
\nof fish is Rp 6,000 per kilogram, a boat owner could only arrive
\nat a break-even point,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another boat owner, A Sun, who has 12 fishing boats, five of
\nwhich are over 30 GT, complained of the hardship following the
\nfuel price hike which has hiked operational costs by up to 40
\npercent. A Sun said that boat owners must now be more careful in
\nlocating potential catches of fish. Boat crew members used to
\nlocate fish sources at random, now, in order to save fuel, they
\nhave to decide where they will fish before setting out to sea.<\/p>\n
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Freddy Numberi has
\nissued a regulation to assist fishermen by setting the price of
\ndiesel at Rp 4,300 per liter for fishing boats below 30 GT. The
\ngovernment will still subsidize owners of fishing boats over 30
\nGT that require up to 25 kiloliters of diesel. The government
\nwill also expedite fuel distribution and make efforts so as to
\nmaintain a steady supply of fuel. Fishermen are also being
\nencouraged to use a fuel conservation device being developed by a
\nresearch agency in Semarang which is now in the trial stage.<\/p>\n
The device is able to conserve up to 15 percent of fuel.
\nFishermen can reduce to between 40 percent and 60 percent of
\ntheir operational costs when using it. However, Sunoto said that
\nhe did not know the cost of the device. \"I think it's not too
\nexpensive. It's being introduced to the public now,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government has also exempted fish catches from tax (PHP)
\nbased on Presidential Decree No. 12\/2005 for a period of one
\nyear, starting in October, in the hope that it will encourage
\nfishermen to return to fishing.<\/p>\n
According to Sunoto, the lifting of the tax which was
\npreviously imposed on fishermen at 2.5 percent of their estimated
\ncatch, especially for vessels below 30 GT, should receive a
\npositive response.<\/p>\n
However, Sunoto acknowledges that the tax exemption might not
\nbe of much help in resolving the problem, but nonetheless the
\ngovernment had shown some commitment to assisting fishermen.<\/p>\n
Azmi and A Sun said the tax exemption would not make much of a
\ndifference to fishermen, but more importantly the government
\nshould provide subsidized fuel to poor fishermen.<\/p>\n
If the fuel component from the total operational costs could
\nbe reduced from 40 percent to below 30 percent, it would make a
\ndifference for fishermen.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prudent-policy-needed-to-boost-fishing-industry-1447893297",
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