CIDISS – Indonesia is an archipelago country and consists of thousands of islands. Geographically, two-thirds of the Indonesian’s oceans are bigger than land. This can be seen with the coastline in almost every island in Indonesia (± 81,000 km). Indonesia ranks as the second after Canada as the country that has the longest coastline in the world.
It is a great potential power for advancing the Indonesian economy through marine and fisheries. But the illegal fishing action in Indonesian waters is happening every day and its loss value reaches IDR 300 trillion per year.
In handling Illegal fishing, Jokowi Government has a vision to combat illegal fishing practices. Government through the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti issued a policy of illegal fishing boat drowned (drowned the vessel for proven illegal fishing).
Since 2014, Jokowi Government through Susi Pudjiastuti incessantly arrested and drowned vessel for proven illegal fishing in Indonesian waters. Until 2017, the government succeeded in drowning 317 foreign fishing vessels conducting illegal fishing. The amount is very fantastic and became the conversation among people both Indonesian and international.
The vessels were from many countries. Not only come from neighboring countries but also from Africa and Europe. In detail, the following data of the country’s illegal fishing vessel was arrested and drowned by the Indonesian government for proven guilty of illegal fishing: Vietnam (114 vessels), Philippines (76 vessels), Malaysian (50 vessels), Thailand (21 vessels), Indonesian (21 vessels unlicensed fishing), Papua New Guinea (2 vessels), China (1 vessels), Nigeria (1 vessels), and Belize (1 vessels) .
This policy certainly brings impacts such as the preservation of Indonesian oceans from the problem of illegal fishing. However, other impacts, it increased in the catches of Indonesian fishermen and also fish consumption of Indonesian society.
Around the end of 2014 and early 2015, fish consumption in Indonesia is only 36 kg per capita per year. But by the end of 2016, fish consumption rose to 41 per capita per year. The current consumption of fish continues to rise, much better than before.
“Consumption of fish in Indonesia rose from 36 kg to 41 kg per capita per year in 2016. Our target last year of fish consumption is 43 kg,” said Susi, while giving speak at the 44th anniversary of Fishermen Association of Indonesia (HNSI), in Depok Beach, Bantul, Sunday (05/21/2017) in detik.com.
Increasing the fish consumption and fisherman catches affect to the economic values in the community. Therefore Susi said, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of fishery in Indonesia also increased.
All of this, Susi claimed because of the seriousness of the government through the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in the fight against illegal fishing. And then, vessels that often steal fish in Indonesia began to think twice. “Because now the number of vessels s are getting smaller, but the fish catches is getting more and more,” she concluded.