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AKARTA: Hundreds of fishermen from Marunda, North Jakarta, on Saturday demanded an auction center from the municipal marine, agriculture and food security agency.

Suaeb Mahbub, head of the Marunda fishermen's cooperation, said the lack of a center had obstructed the fishermen from selling their catches.

"We have difficulty marketing our catches. The only way to sell them are if the fishermen sell them, or through middlemen," he said.

Neither method is cost-efficient, he was quoted as saying by beritajakarta.com.

Suaeb said they had long asked for the fish auction center in Marunda, and had visited several offices from the subdistrict level to the municipal level.

Edi Santoso, head of the agency, said building an auction hall was not easy.

"We have to do preliminary studies first, and because Marunda and Cilincing aren't that far, the Marunda fishermen can sell their fish at Cilincing."