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