In Gorontalo, the President Wants to Develop the Blue Ocean Economy
President of the Republic of Indonesia has affirmed that the government will develop the maritime and fisheries sector on a large scale through the strengthening of the blue economy. This was stated by the number one citizen of Indonesia during a visit to the Merah Putih Fishermen’s Village in South Leato, Gorontalo City, Gorontalo Province, on Saturday (9/5/2026) afternoon WITA.
According to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesia’s marine potential is a great gift that must be managed to improve the welfare of coastal communities and strengthen national economic sovereignty. Therefore, he continued, the government that I lead will develop fisheries and maritime affairs on a large scale.
“Our term now is the blue economy, the blue sea economy, the blue ocean economy. The blue ocean economy is very important; it is a gift from the Almighty. We must be grateful, and we must now invest on a large scale,” said the President in his speech at the event attended by hundreds of fishermen.
President Prabowo also emphasised that strengthening the maritime sector is part of the government’s major efforts to build national self-reliance. According to him, fishermen must be the main actors in utilising national marine resources.
“We are highly respected because we are now self-sufficient in food, self-sufficient in rice, self-sufficient in corn, self-sufficient in many things. We no longer need to import food from outside, and our fishermen have made a great contribution. We want to strengthen the role of our fishermen,” he said.
On that occasion, Prabowo also conveyed that the government is preparing the construction of thousands of fishing vessels that will later be managed through fishermen’s cooperatives. This year, the government will build 1,582 fishing vessels. These vessels will be given to groups of fishermen who join cooperatives.
“Later, it will be regulated whether 30 fishermen form one cooperative; then we will give them a vessel. There are small vessels, medium ones, and large vessels. We do not want foreign vessels to take fish from our seas; we want our people to take them,” said Prabowo at the event attended by Gorontalo Governor Gusnar Ismail, Gorontalo Mayor Adhan Dambea, and DPD RI member Fadel Muhammad.
Prabowo is optimistic that these major steps will bring prosperity to coastal communities throughout Indonesia. “Our people must be prosperous. I want our fishermen to be prosperous; I want them to smile every day because their income is good,” he stated.