Fishermen sitting it out as price of fuel jacks up costs

Fishermen sitting it out as price of fuel jacks up costs

Fadli, The Jakarta Post/Batam

A lot of folks' favorite fish, such as the selar and tongkol, are
getting harder to find in Batam as hundreds of fishing boats that
usually bring them in have curbed operations over the last couple
of weeks due to soaring operational costs after a huge fuel price
hike.

The source of the problem stemmed from the implementation of
Presidential Decree No. 55/2005 on the procedures for the
distribution of subsidized fuel, which states that fishing
vessels of over 30 gross tons were required to buy diesel at the
full, or industrial, price of Rp 6,460 (approximately 64 U.S.
cents) per liter. The price of subsidized diesel is Rp 4,300 per
liter.

Since the implementation of the regulation on Oct. 26, the
fishing boats have remained moored at the Fish Landing and
Gathering Center (UUPPI) in Punggur, Batam.

The fishermen expressed hope that they could buy diesel fuel
from the state-oil company Pertamina at the subsidized price,
including fishing boats of over 30 gross tons.

A member of the Mid-water Trawlers Association who is also the
manager of the UUPPI, Wandy, told The Jakarta Post that 35
fishing boats had stopped operating since the prices went up.

Dozens of other fishing boats had also stopped sailing out to
sea because the mobile fuel barges at sea were now selling fuel
at the industrial price. There are approximately 100 fishing
vessels that have stopped operating. "Ferry operators are given
the privilege to buy fuel at the subsidized price," said Wandi.

Earlier, the ferry operators had to buy fuel at the
unsubsidized price, but after they held a major strike last
month, they were eventually given a dispensation by Pertamina to
buy diesel at the subsidized price even though their vessels
weigh more then 30 tons.

Most of the fishing boats anchored at the UUPPI are between 50
tons and 118 tons. They usually operate off of Natuna island and
further out in the South China Sea, a distance of around 500
kilometers from Batam.

One of the idle crew members, Nasib, 27, said that it had been
a month since they had gone out to sea because the boat owner had
stopped operations. As a result, Nasib and his crewmates no
longer receive their regular pay of Rp 200,000 per trip.

"I haven't paid rent on my house. I even have to ask for
cigarettes from friends. We just sit around on the boat waiting
for the order to go out to sea from our boss," said Nasib.

The operational costs for a single 10-day fishing trip amounts
to over Rp 60 million for 10 tons of subsidized diesel, food and
wages for 40 boat crew members.

However, since fishing boats were required to buy diesel at
the industrial price, none of the boats had left the harbor.
"Operational costs have increased two-fold. Not a single one of
the boats has attempted to operate since the increase in fuel
prices," said Wandi. Each fishing boat can haul in 70 tons of
various kinds of fish. The fishing industry in Batam can account
for 10,000 tons of seafood a month. Since the stoppage, Batam's
seafood connoisseurs and exporters now have to depend on
traditional fishermen, who bring in around 2,000 tons a month.

Meanwhile, Pertamina's spokesperson in Batam, Sri Sudarso,
said that Pertamina had implemented the policy in line with the
President's decree, and that his office was only carrying out
government orders.