Cilacap needs 20,000 fishermen

CILACAP, Central Java: Cilacap needs some 20,000 fishermen to meet the requirement of becoming a "fishermen city", Cilacap regent Hery Tabri Karta said on Tuesday.

"Currently, the town has about 15,000 fishermen. Now with the central government's commitment to put maritime development ahead, we will need an extra 20,000," town spokesman Ansor Basuki said.

Cilacap contributes an average of Rp 40 billion to national fish production every year. Last week an Academy of Fishery was officiated by the administration to support the development of the fish industry.

"We have been planning this for quite sometime and we are very happy that it meets perfectly with President Abdurrahman Wahid's policy on maritime resources development," Ansor said. (45/edt)