REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) called on the government to optimize fish production at home for people's consumption.
"In the 1980s, about 71 percent of the fish production was allocated for people's consumption," Kiara Secretary General Abdul Halim said on Saturday.
He said that in the 1976-2012 period, the world's nominal trade on fishery products increased by about 8.3 percent and real trade by 4.1 percent.
The world trade on fishery products was also influenced by certain factors such as price volatility, climate change, carbon emission and distribution of profit margin.
"Fish supplies as a global food source continue to increase over the past five decades," he said.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) on Saturday advised the people to consume more fish instead of other types of meat such as beef and chicken.
"We encourage people to eat more fish so that the per capita fish consumption of the people this year could reach 40 kilograms (kg)," Nilanto Perbowo, director general for reinforcement of the competitiveness of marine and fisheries products of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, said during the commemoration of the second anniversary of the National Fishery Day (Harkannas) here Saturday.
Based on the KKP data, the national per capita fish consumption of the Indonesian people is still about 35 kg, but there were provinces where per capita consumption was more than that, he said.
Now fish stock is on the rise as a result of the success of efforts to fight against its theft of late, he said. It is also guaranteed that the need for raw material of the fish industry is adequate.
The KPP has been applying a multi-discipline regulation to put in order and overcome illegal fishing in Indonesian waters, he said.
"This approach is important because crime in the marine and fishery sector is related to other forms of crimes," KKP Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said.
The KKP claimed that its focused efforts on curbing illegal fishing practices have significantly reduced fish poaching. "Over the past year, the fight against illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) fishing has been a major success," Nilanto Perbowo, last Wednesday.
The biggest impact of the fight against IUU fishing was the success achieved by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in eliminating fish theft by foreign vessels, which often operated in Indonesian waters, he pointed out.
The disappearance of foreign fishing vessels could benefit traditional fishermen in various regions. They can now fish more easily than in the past. At the same time, the government, through the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, could ensure the availability of the nation's fish stocks and ways to optimally exploit their potential.
Earlier this month, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti stated that the task force meant to prevent illegal fishing will focus on the border regions.
"There are five regions highly prone to illegal fishing," the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's press release quoted Minister Pudjiastuti as saying on November 3.
The five regions are the Malacca Strait, Natuna Sea or the South China Sea, the waters in the north of Sulawesi and Kalimantan, and Arafuru Sea, apart from the sea in the south of Java or the Indian Ocean.
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