0 Fishery to become top priority

Bali administration intends to work harder to enhance its fishery products by developing integrated and sustainable fishery policies and programs. I Made Gunaja, head of the province’s marine affairs and fisheries, told Bali Daily on Tuesday that the government would initially focus on improving human resources and people’s living conditions. “Our first priority is to find ways to accelerate poverty elimination and unemployment programs among local fishermen, their families and people living in coastal areas,” explained Gunaja. 

He said that the programs would be long-term but he was sure they could be started gradually. Bali, he said, is part of the government’s Economic Corridor in the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI) together with West and East Nusa Tenggara. The provinces are designated as the nation’s major gateways to tourism and national food reserve centers in which fishery and animal husbandry will become the main industries. 

“Bali actually has huge fishery potentials that have yet to be tapped, yet most fishermen are destitute,” he said. In 2011, Bali’s fishery products reached 12 million tons comprising caught and farmed fish. It is thought that the province can increase its fishery yields by 20 million tons of fish by 2015. “The province’s real fishery potentials may reach 148 million tons of fish per year from its 30,171.22 hectares of coastal areas,” he explained. Meanwhile, per capita income of a fisherman’s family reached Rp 22.87 million (US$2,371) per year by the end of 2012, above the target of only Rp 19.2 million. 

Next year, the administration hopes to increase per capita income to Rp 25 million. The administration is also eager to increase per capita fish consumption to 30.61 kilograms in 2013. In 2011, per capita fish consumption reached only 28.7 kilograms. “Increasing per capita fish consumption will certainly improve the nutrition and health of local fishermen as well as the community,” added Gunaja. However, he lamented that productivity in the fishery sector was dependent on nature and dogged by poor fishing management and illegal fishing. 

“Fishery production from caught fish from 2007 to 2011 showed a downward trend with yields of 106,895.9 tons to 101,371.6 tons in 2011,” he explained. In the fish breeding sector, the administration increased the area from 1,557 hectares to 1,604 hectares as part of the government’s MP3EI programs. Two regencies — Bangli and Tabanan — will be designated as minapolitan integrated fishery breeding centers for Bali. Other regencies — Badung, Negara and Klungkung — will follow in the near future. 

Separately, Ketut Wija, assistant in the administration’s economic affairs, said that sustainable fishery development programs would be the island’s top priority supported by the central government. Bali got Rp 79 billion in fishery investments in 2012 — a relatively small amount of the total investments of Rp 9.5 trillion in the same year. “The money will go to the development of a shrimp breeding center in Buleleng regency in North Bali and a fishermen’s partnership program for the procurement of fishing boats,” Wija said.

source : bali daily