REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the government has finally decided to allow fishermen to use trawler or cantrang as a fishing tool until the end of 2017.
The minister made the remarks after meeting President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Presidential Palace here on Wednesday.
"I met the president. I have been requesting an extension period and directives from the president since Sunday. We have extended the period of cantrang use until the end of 2017. This is mainly for fishermen in the Central Java region," he stated.
Cantrang is a kind of fishing equipment (API) which belongs to a group of boat or vessel seines.
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The minister promised to distribute fishing tools to replace cantrang to the fishermen soon.
"Ships under 10 GT will receive the replacement during this time but not the bigger ones. Hence, we would provide assistance to banks," said Susi.
Also read: Fishermen ask the govt to legalize trawls
Previously, the Regulation of Pudjiastuti had caused conflict between the fishermen and law enforcement officers.
The regulations that invite pros and cons are the Regulation of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Number 1 / PERMEN-KP / 2015 concerning the Prohibition of the Use of Trawl Fishing and Pukat Tarik in the Fishery Management Area of the Republic of Indonesia.
The regulation states that fishermen are prohibited from using cantrang for fishing.
Instead, the ministry distributed a replacement tool that was considered more environmentally friendly.
But the problem was that the ministry of maritime affairs had not been optimal in the distribution of the cantrang replacement fishing tools in the two years since the policy was launched.
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