New regulation in works to curb illegal fishing
New regulation in works to curb illegal fishing
JAKARTA (JP): The government will apply a new fishing
licensing regulation as it moves to curb illegal foreign fishing
in Indonesian waters, Minister of Maritime Exploration Sarwono
Kusumaatmaja said on Thursday.
He said the licensing procedure was being prepared by a
special team in his ministry, with the expectation it would be
ready within the next four months.
"Our problem with illegal foreign fishing is largely linked to
our weak licensing procedure that is prone to manipulation,"
Sarwono said on the sidelines of a national meeting of
the Association of Indonesian Fishing Companies (Gappindo).
Illegal foreign fishing is estimated to cost the country some
US$4 billion in lost revenue every year, while Indonesia earns
$2.2 billion from its own fishing sector.
Sarwono said his office would work with other related
government institutions, such as the Ministry of Communications,
in drafting the regulation.
He said the licensing procedure would also accommodate the
trend toward greater regional autonomy and stressed that a
tighter control system should follow the implementation of the
regulation.
"First we have to fix our licensing procedure and then our
control system. A weak control system would just make the new
licensing procedure useless," Sarwono said.
He said Indonesia would apply the Monitoring Controlling
Surveillance (MCS) system in safeguarding its marine potential.
Although not disclosing the cost of MCS, which is an
electronic surveillance network using radios, radars and
satellites, Sarwono assured that the technology was becoming more
affordable.
"We can make several components locally and it's a standard
equipment in most countries, including poor ones," he said.
He said the Indonesian fishing industry also supported the
proposal.
Gappindo chairman Sutara Martadisastra said the association
welcomed the government's move to tighten the monitoring of
foreign fishing vessels operating in Indonesian waters.
He also recommended the government simplify the fishing
licensing procedures through the processing of applications by
one ministry only.
On the fishing industry's prospects, he said banks were still
reluctant to channel their funds to the sector and preferred the
property industry.
But he said the industry held great potential as Indonesia was
the world's eight largest fish exporter, with exports reaching
4.8 million metric tons in 1998.
"However, Gappindo will take the initiative to cooperate with
one or two banks in financing this sector and the procurement of
fishing vessels," he said.
Sutara said he would approach Bank Agro, while Sarwono would
try to obtain funding from state Bank Mandiri.(bkm/10)