Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries: Red and White Fishermen's Villages Support Fisheries Downstreaming
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono stated that Red and White Fishermen’s Villages (KNMP) are essential for strengthening fisheries downstream processes and enhancing fishermen’s welfare.
During a visit to one of the fish processing units (UPI) in Bintan Regency, Riau Islands Province, on Thursday, Trenggono explained that the Red and White Fishermen’s Village represents an integrated fisheries ecosystem from the upstream areas involving fishermen, cold chains, to connectivity with processing industries and markets.
“If the Red and White Fishermen’s Village operates effectively, I guarantee the product quality will be excellent because the handling chain is improved from the start. The processing industry will also find it easier to absorb fishermen’s catches,” Trenggono said in a statement from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) quoted in Jakarta.
According to him, the main challenge in the fisheries sector currently lies not in the downstream or market aspects, but in improving the upstream sector, starting from production, fish handling, to strengthening the fishermen’s ecosystem.
“The issue now in fisheries is not the downstream, but improving the upstream. Therefore, the government is addressing the upstream sector through the KNMP programme,” he stated.
The KKP targets the construction of more than 1,000 Red and White Fishermen’s Villages by 2026 across various regions in Indonesia.
The year 2025 marks the initial milestone with the construction of 100 sites, of which 65 locations have already been completed 100 percent.
The KKP stated that the Riau Islands is one of the strategic areas for developing Red and White Fishermen’s Villages, considering the archipelago’s characteristics, high fisheries sector activity, and its proximity to international trade routes.
Several KNMP locations currently under development in the Riau Islands include those in Natuna and Batam.
The KNMP concept is developed based on clusters that connect fishermen’s areas, distribution centres, fishing ports, to fish processing units and export markets.
With this system, fishermen’s catches are said to be handled better from landing to entering the distribution and processing chain, ensuring the quality and standards of the catches.
Minister Trenggono emphasised that the government wants to ensure that fishery resources provide maximum benefits for local fishermen and coastal communities so that productivity and fishermen’s welfare improve.
“The Red and White Fishermen’s Village programme is a great opportunity. Regions must actively seize that opportunity so that the economic benefits are truly felt by fishing communities,” Trenggono said.