Visit to Fish Market: Gibran Wants Fishing Villages to Be More Productive

Raja Ampat, CNBC Indonesia - Vice President Gibran Rakabuming made an impromptu visit to the fish market as part of his working visit to Raja Ampat Regency, Southwest Papua, on Wednesday (22/4/2026). In addition to dialoguing with traders, he also inspected the Merah Putih Fishing Village, which is located adjacent to the fish market.

The Vice President wants to ensure that the Merah Putih Fishing Village, which will begin operations in May, can truly address the classic issues faced by fishermen: access to fuel, cold storage, fish prices, and distribution chains.

While appreciating the addition of existing facilities such as ice factories and cold storage, the Vice President also acknowledged that there are still several shortcomings that need to be evaluated and completed immediately.

“This is already much better than before, but there is still much that needs to be improved.”

In addition, the Vice President also encouraged further development such as the use of solar energy (solar cells), the construction of fish processing and canning industries, to increase the added value of marine products and prevent waste.

The Merah Putih Fishing Village in Raja Ampat is a pilot project that can be replicated in other regions that rely on capture fisheries as a driver of the local economy.

The Vice President hopes that government intervention through fishing village infrastructure can increase their productivity, which in turn can alleviate poverty problems in coastal areas.