The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is now considering expanding areas zoned for commercial trawling to the Pekalongan Sea off the northern coast of Central Java Province. This decision of the ministry has been criticized by small-scale fishermen and environmentalists. The ministry ignored the criticism and agreed to increase the number of fishing licenses allowing the use of large trawl nets from 1,219 to 1,419.
According to the ministry it will issue trawling rights for commercial vessels in the waters north of East Kalimantan Province, the first time the practice has been allowed in the country for 28 years. Ali Supardan, the ministry’s general director of fisheries, informed that the ministry had already received official letters from the Central Java provincial administration asking that trawling be permitted in the Pekalongan Sea.
Ali told that the provincial administration noted that fish populations in the Pekalongan Sea were on the verge of being overfished. He added that the reduction in the number of fish in the area meant that fishermen using small nets were bringing in meager catches. Ali opined that it is for the purpose of increasing fishermen’s income that the administration sent us the letter asking that we consider trawling in the Pekalongan Sea.
Many fishermen’s groups and environmentalists have criticized the government’s step saying that it would further strain an already overexploited resource and benefit large companies more than small-scale fishermen. The People’s Coalition for Justice in Fishing, or Kiara, estimates that the legalization of trawling could cut small-scale fishermen’s incomes as much as 60 percent.
Commenting on the plan, Suhana, a marine biologist at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, or IPB, told that he did not understand the government’s rationale behind allowing large-scale trawling in already overfished areas. Suhana also informed that this will harm future catches. Ali said that the trawlers would only be allowed to catch fish and shrimp in their home districts.
