Foreign vessels crowding exclusive zone

Foreign vessels crowding exclusive zone

The fish processing industry is often likened to a starving
chicken in the granary. It is a unique phenomenon that with the
abundant fish potential in national waters, the processing
industry is complaining about a shortage of raw materials.

And this gloomy picture does not look like it will change
soon, especially following the government's decision to allow
seven fishing companies from China to operate 100 fishing vessels
in the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (IEEZ). Of these
vessels, 60 will operate under a licensing system while the rest
will use a counter-purchasing scheme.

In procedural terms, there is nothing wrong with this policy.
However, looking at the actual situation out in the field, the
policy has made things even more difficult for fish processing
firms. The policy will also inflict an annual loss of at least
US$1.362 billion on the state.

The next question is: Why are more foreign vessels being
allowed into Indonesian waters? What complicates matters ever
more is that of the additional ships, 60 are operating under a
licensing system. This means that although they are obliged to
register and berth at ports in Indonesia, the fish they catch can
be processed overseas. The point is that these catches might very
well take "flight" abroad.

The government is thus expected to introduce various solutions
or other middle-course remedies for this problem. We naturally do
not want to see foreign ships crowding the IEEZ while the
manufacturing industry at home continues to face a dearth of raw
materials.

--Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta