Fishermen Still Face Problem with Fishing Licenses: Kiara

Jakarta (Antara) - Many fishermen are still facing problems in dealing with their fishing licenses which are important for improving their welfare, the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) Secretary General Abdul Halim said. "Up to now, fishermen still face difficulties in dealing with their fishing licenses," Halim said in a written statement made available to Antara here on Sunday. Traditional fisherman are prone to discrimination because they lack knowledge and bureaucracy is complicated, he said. The difficulties in obtaining fishing licenses have direct impact on traditional fishermen and on increasing poverty rates in the fishery villages of various regions in the country, Halim said. Halim explained that in the period of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s term of office from 2009 to 2014, no effort had been made to provide legal umbrella for the protection and empowerment of fishermen in Indonesia. "Fishermen are still considered second class while their contribution to the people's nutritional intake is big and can be felt every day through the dishes at the dining tables," he said. Earlier, the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen Organization (KNTI) expressed its calls for the next government to overcome the traditional fishermen's poverty problem and improve the income of fishermen living the country's various coastal areas. "The next president should not repeat the basic mistakes made in the past in the maritime sector but fight in the bud the causes of fishermen's poverty," KNTI Advisory Council's Chairman Riza Damanik said. He said that overcoming the problems in the marine sector and fishermen's poverty would constitute a first step to building Indonesia as a strong island country. Besides, he said, the next president is also expected to have the commitment to implementing the International Guidelines on Small Scale Fisheries (IGSSF) which was endorsed by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in June 2014. Empowering traditional fishermen should become a priority in the national development program because so far the matter is marginalized from the country's mainstream development planning. "Fishermen's empowerment, including fish pond breeders, must be commenced after they are not given priority in national development for a long time," he said. (*)