Fishermen ask for nationalization of fishing vessels
Fishermen ask for nationalization of fishing vessels
JAKARTA (JP): The Federation of Indonesian Fishermen (HNSI)
asked the government yesterday to allow the nationalization of
more than 480 foreign fishing boats operating in Indonesia's
territorial waters.
Tuk Setyohadi, the chairman of the association, announced
after meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that the
nationalization -- the switching of ownership from foreign to
national property -- was needed to increase productivity.
He said Indonesia's maximum sustainable yield was presently
6.7 million tons a year, but only three tons are taken each year.
Indonesia, which presently lacks fishing vessels, allows
foreign vessels to operate in its territorial waters. As a
result, a large proportion of Indonesia's marine resources have
been taken out of the country -- both legally and illegally -- by
foreign fleets.
"This has caused financial losses of between Rp 500 million
(US$219,230) to Rp 1 billion a year," Tuk said.
The government permits Indonesian fishermen to lease foreign
vessels but bans the importation of used foreign fishing vessels.
Foreign fleets are allowed to operate in Indonesia only after
they meet several requirements, including some fees, employing a
specified number of Indonesian crew and getting permission from
local port authority before exporting their catch.
Tuk said that foreign ships leased by Indonesians could
qualify to be nationalized by the Indonesian partner after a
number of years.
"But such a process is quite impossible because the government
considers the action as importing a used fishing boat," he said.
Import
State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie said
last month that the ban on the importation of used fishing
vessels protected the Indonesian ship building industry.
State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL, which is overseen by the
Agency for Strategic Industry Management, is the country's major
ship producer. The agency is headed by Habibie.
Tuk doubted that the state company could meet the demand for
fishing boats.
For 1996, he said, some 1,000 new fishing boats will be
needed.
"Locally-produced vessels are extremely expensive and
unaffordable to most fishermen and fishing entrepreneurs. Banks
are also reluctant to give loans to ship builders because they
consider the business risky," he said.
Tuk pointed out that used fishing vessels were far cheaper
than those produced domestically. This was mainly because many
countries were experiencing a decline in their fishing
productivity, causing them to sell their ships at low prices.
The number of fishing vessels produced by traditional
dockyards, he said, could meet the domestic demand "but they
usually design vessels with traditional techniques. They don't
have sophisticated designs and measurements, so they can't obtain
licenses from the government," he said. (pwn)