Govt attacked for neglecting fishing

Govt attacked for neglecting fishing

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Fishing Companies
(Gappindo) has criticized the government for its lack of concern
about promoting the country's lagging fishing industry.

Gappindo executive Bambang Suboko said here on Saturday that
the government often talked too much about the prospects of the
sector but failed to take concrete action to make the sector
attractive to investors.

"There is not a single sign of concern made during the Cabinet
meetings," Bambang said in a discussion on the future of the
country's fishery industry held by information provider for
fisheries development Datafish.

According to Bambang, the difficulty in raising investment
funds remained the core problem for investors in entering into
fishing activities.

The government should find alternative financing because the
country's crippled banking system was still too weak to finance
the fishery sector, he said.

Though no data was available on how much the industry was
spending on expansion plans, Bambang said that declining fish
exports indicated the absence of any investments.

Without the capital to at least sustain the current production
level, it was difficult for the industry to meet export demands,
he explained.

For instance, he said, in 1999 frozen tuna exports to Japan
dropped by 58 percent down to 17,000 metric tons from 29,300 tons
the previous year.

He said Japan accounted for some 60 percent of Indonesia's
total export market, worth US$2 billion in 1998, which itself
dropped by 15 percent compared to 1997's export value.

"We have already lost our number one position as Japan's fish
supplier long since 1997," Bambang said.

Whereas Norway, he said, was able to generate $2 billion per
year from the export of salmon alone, for which it had invested
$600 million over a period of 10 years.

However, instead of solving the need for capital, he said, the
government was paying more attention to the issue of illegal
foreign fishing.

Unfortunately, according to him, the intensity of illegal
fishers operating had remained relative stable over the past few
years despite the government's many talks on the issue.

Bambang said that if Indonesia owned a large fishing fleet, it
would help prevent foreign ships from penetrating Indonesian
waters.

"We have to face them (illegal foreign fishers) economically
instead of relying on more security from the Navy," he said.

But expanding the country's fishing fleet called for more
capital, which the government should help facilitate, he added.

Economist Didik J. Rachbini suggested that the government
provides financing facilities to the fishing industry.

"Fishers would then be able to buy new ships with low interest
payments and/or fiscal incentives," Didik said.

He acknowledged that the government's macroeconomic policies
were behind the difficulties in obtaining capital for the fishing
industry.

Director General for Fisheries at the Ministry of Maritime
Exploration Untung Wahyono said that the expansion of the fishing
industry dependent largely on the restructuring of the banking
sector.

Wavering security was another crucial factor that deterred
local and foreign investments, he said, adding that owners of
shrimps ponds and other cultivation sites were facing continued
threats from looters. (bkm)