Experts told to help fishermen

Experts told to help fishermen

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro called on experts in ocean engineering this weekend to retrieve Indonesia's many fishermen from the jaws of poverty.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the new board members of the Indonesian Association of Engineers' Vocational Council for Ocean Technology, Wardiman said the major issue was how to seek realistic solutions to their problems.

"The major issue is how we can make their commodity into a product which can bring significant income to our country's earnings" he said.

Indonesian fishermen and their families make up the largest group of people living below the poverty line, with living conditions worse than those of farmers.

Although two-thirds of Indonesia is made up of seas, natural resources from the sea have yet to become a major contributor to national earnings.

Wardiman said that the low levels of skill and technology are to blame for the acute poverty facing Indonesian fishermen.

Wardiman, who earned his bachelor degree in ship engineering, asked the engineers to come up with concrete proposals on how to alleviate the seamen's poverty.

He stressed the importance of ocean studies in light of Indonesia's recent gains from a number of international laws concerning its territorial waters.

"The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea...gives a great opportunity for Indonesia to explore its natural resources in the area," he said.

Indonesia's territorial waters, the continental shelf, transfer of technology and scientific research on the ocean were among the concepts broadened and adopted internationally on Nov. 16, 1994.

Indonesia's 37 years of struggle to gain international recognition over its territorial waters has increased the area from 1.9 million square kilometers in 1945 to five million square kilometers in 1957. With the 1982 convention, the area increased to 4.9 million square kilometers.

Soegiono, rector of the Surabaya 10 November Institute of Technology, reported from his scientific paper that ocean technology and marine sciences still face a severe lack of human resources and facilities.

He added that experts in these areas should conduct their studies in relation to the current job market.

"They should also anticipate advancements in technology which change rapidly. In this field, developing countries are often left behind," he pointed out.(pwn)