Fuel crisis hits fishing industry in Maluku

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Fishing Companies (Gappindo) urged the government on Tuesday to help fishing companies in Maluku and Irian Jaya which have been suffering from a fuel crisis over the past two months.

Association executive director Bambang Soeboko said in a statement that many fishing boats and fish processing plants in the eastern region had not been able to operate fully over the past two months due to severe shortage of fuel supplies from state oil and gas company Pertamina.

"Many owners of fish processing plants were forced to queue at Pertamina's fuel depots only to receive 30 percent of their fuel needs," Bambang said.

The problem was also experienced by fishermen, who operated a total of 1,378 small-size boats in the region, he added.

According to latest data from the Directorate General of Fisheries, there are 1,984 fishing boats operating in the eastern region, including 1,116 boats in Maluku and 818 boats in Irian Jaya.

"If the fuel crisis persists and the government continues with its plan to raise the price of fuel on Oct. 1, 2000, many fishing companies operating in the Maluku and Irian Jaya waters will go bankrupt or at least half of the existing fishing boats will be grounded," Bambang warned.

Bambang said the fuel shortage, if it continued, would deal a heavy blow to the country and the eastern provinces as the fishing industry was one of the main foreign exchange earners in the region.

Indonesian fish exports in the first semester totaled US$670 million, up from $647 million in the same period last year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The fishing industry also employed a large number of people, Bambang added.

He said the industry could actually become a prime mover for the region to recover from the current economic, social and political crisis.

"Gappindo strongly hopes the government will pay special attention to this eastern region and restore fuel supplies, which are vital for the region's fishing industry and other sectors," Bambang said.

Maluku has been battered by ethnic violence over the past two years, while Irian Jaya has been hit by a separatist movement which has been growing since the downfall of president Soeharto in mid-1998. (jsk)