Prabowo Aims to Boost Blue Ocean Economy through Fishermen's Village Development

We want all fishermen in Indonesia to have better lives, yes. Their income must increase because fishermen play a very important role in our nation’s life,” said Prabowo in South Leato, Gorontalo, on Saturday (9/5/2026).

According to Prabowo, fishermen hold a strategic position as the main providers of protein sources for society. Amid rising global food needs, the fisheries sector is seen as one of the pillars of Indonesia’s future economy.

“Fishermen produce protein, produce fish. This is very important and the world now greatly needs fish, protein,” he stated.

Prabowo described the blue economy concept not merely as managing marine resources, but also as a national development strategy that utilises Indonesia’s maritime potential sustainably.

“Therefore, the government I lead will massively develop fisheries and the marine sector. Our current term is Blue Economy, Blue Ocean Economy. The Blue Ocean Economy is very important; it is a gift from the Almighty,” said Prabowo.

“We must be grateful and we must now invest massively. The Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Mr Trenggono, Mr Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, is with me,” he continued.

The government is also ensuring the construction of fishermen’s villages in Indonesia’s outermost areas, including in Miangas. This step is seen as part of strengthening coastal economies while safeguarding Indonesia’s maritime sovereignty.

Prabowo added that Indonesia’s success in achieving food self-sufficiency further strengthens the country’s position internationally, including during attendance at the ASEAN Summit with the Indonesian Foreign Minister.

“Earlier we were in Miangas; we will soon build a fishermen’s village there too. I was also accompanied by the Foreign Minister; we just came from the Philippines attending the ASEAN Summit,” he said.

“We are highly respected because we now have food self-sufficiency, rice self-sufficiency, corn self-sufficiency, and much more. We no longer need to import food from outside,” Prabowo continued.

As a concrete implementation of the blue economy, the government targets building 1,386 fishermen’s villages in 2026. The programme will continue with the construction of 1,000 fishermen’s villages each subsequent year.

“And next year we will build more. How many next year? 1,000, and so on; we will build 1,000 every year, 1,000, 1,000. Across all of Indonesia, we have 12,000 fishermen’s villages,” he added.