"The protection and empowerment of small fishermen have become a priority in every policy of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. The government cannot run by itself. Synergy and collaboration among all stakeholders is the key to the success of marine and fisheries development," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The event was hosted at the ministry's Mina Bahari III Building here on Tuesday and was marked by the launch of a study conducted by the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative (IOJI) and the Pesisir Lestari Foundation on the practice and implementation of the Fishermen Empowerment Act and the Coastal and Small Island Management Act at seven locations.
The event held to discuss stakeholder synergy and collaboration for fishermen’s empowerment and coastal management to realize marine welfare and justice.
The event also aimed to build collaboration among stakeholders to pursue measured, just, and sustainable fisheries management.
According to Trenggono, the ministry is running five blue economy programs whose implementation is expected to improve the welfare of coastal communities, especially small fishermen. The programs have been designed to maintain the sustainability of the fishery ecosystem, including the preservation of mangrove areas, coral reefs, and seagrass beds.
The programs include the expansion of marine conservation areas, quota-based scalable fishing, the development of environmentally friendly aquaculture, structuring the use of marine, coastal, and small island spaces, and marine debris settlement.
"Based on the evaluation process as well as the results of a comprehensive study of the challenges and opportunities that exist, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has prepared an all-time Blue Economy road map outlined in five main programs to ensure the sea remains healthy and to maintain the balance of the marine nature for the survival of the next generation, as well as create prosperity, especially for coastal communities and fishermen," he elaborated.
Meanwhile, CEO of IOJI Mas Achmad Santosa said that he is supporting the government, especially the ministry, in implementing Sustainable Ocean Economy (SOE), also known as Sustainable Blue Economy, because Indonesia is a country with marine and fishery assets of high value and immense potential.
"The approach to sustainable ocean economy or sustainable blue economy must, of course, be parallel and run in harmony with all of us in the spirit of pursuing aspects of social justice and ecological justice," he added.
The government has issued the Law on the Management of Coastal Areas and Small Islands (Coastal Management Law) and the Law on the Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Cultivators, and Salt Farmers (Fishermen Protection Law), he noted.
IOJI conducted a study on the applicability of the two laws at seven locations: Jakarta, Riau Islands, Southeast Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and North Sulawesi.
"From the results of this study, there's growing optimism (from the fact that) that we have done many things together; at the same time, there are still challenges and opportunities in front of us for us to answer and resolve together," he added.
Santosa also conveyed his team's gratitude for the ministry's willingness to collaborate, and expressed the hope that there would be more collaborations in the future.
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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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