Govt to enact fishing regulations to protect marine resources
Govt to enact fishing regulations to protect marine resources
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Agriculture may enact
regulations to protect Indonesia's marine resources from
potential overexploitation due to easing of government
restrictions on the import of fishing vessels, a senior official
has said.
Director General of Fisheries F.X. Murdjijo said early last
week the Ministry of Agriculture would work together with the
Ministry of Industry and Trade to impose the regulations.
He said his office would propose a maximum catch level and the
number of fishing vessels each company might operate along with
the type of fishing equipment allowed.
"We will find the best way to prevent fishing companies from
overexploiting our marine resources while managing these
resources in a sustainable manner," he said.
The solution would not break with the government's commitment
to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said.
He said that although fishing resources were renewable, they
might become exhausted if not managed in a sustainable manner.
The government's move to liberalize regulations on the import
of fishing vessels is part of the economic measures announced by
President Soeharto recently to support the US$43 billion bailout
package arranged by the IMF.
But some environmental analysts have said that the decision
would result in the overexploitation of the country's marine
resources.
Indonesia's fishing industry hauled in over 4.7 million tons
of fish last year, a 5.9 percent increase from the 4.4 million
tons it caught in 1996. The number represents about 44 percent of
the country's annual fishing capacity.
A government restriction on the import of fishing vessels was
previously enacted in 1996 under a Minister of Agriculture
decree. The decree stipulated that through 1999, fishing
companies would only be allowed to import 960 long-liners, purse
seiners and fishnets at a rate of 320 vessels a year.
The importation of used fishing vessels was only allowed for
vessels that have been in service for more than 10 years. The
vessels also had to receive prior approval from the Directorate
General of Fisheries.
The decree was issued to protect Indonesia's territorial
waters from being illegally exploited by modern fleets flying
foreign flags chartered by Indonesian companies. Illegal foreign
fishing has caused $2 billion in losses per year for Indonesia.
Murdjijo said that under the decree, at least 24 companies had
received licenses to import used vessels while four companies had
been allowed to import new vessels last year.
But he admitted that those companies had been only able to
import 281 used fishing vessels due to the monetary crisis which
had caused difficulties in paying for imported vessels.
He added that fishing companies were also facing difficulties
in procuring loans from banks to import vessels due to the
crisis.
Regardless of financial problems, Murdjijo said that his
office had received proposals from fishing companies to import at
least 1,000 vessels this year now that the restrictions had been
eased. But due to Presidential Decree No. 22/1998, which states
that the importation of fishing vessels will be handled by the
Ministry of Industry and Trade, the proposals still have to be
reviewed, he said. (gis)