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Islands in focus: Fish buying ban causes unemployment
At least 750 crew members of 107 ships have lost their jobs after the Maritime and Fishery Ministry banned them from buying fish from small-boat fishermen on the sea and then transporting and selling the fish to traders in Balikpapan city, a practice called âtransshipmentâ
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t least 750 crew members of 107 ships have lost their jobs after the Maritime and Fishery Ministry banned them from buying fish from small-boat fishermen on the sea and then transporting and selling the fish to traders in Balikpapan city, a practice called 'transshipment'.
Rasyid, a fisherman from Kampung Baru, Balikpapan, said buying fish from small-boat fishermen from Pati and Jepara, Central Java while they are still in the middle of the sea was cheaper than fishing by themselves.
'It [buying fish on the sea] would save fuel. We help them [the fishermen from Java] be more efficient since they do not need to berth to sell their small catches,' Rasyid said on Wednesday.
However, the Balikpapan Agriculture Maritime and Fishery Agency head Yosmianto defended the ban on the transshipment practice, saying that the policy aimed to enliven Balikpapan fishermen.
'We push them to return, to become real fishermen. We would help them with the fishing equipment, such as nets, so the supply of fish in Balikpapan could return to normal,' Yosmianto said.
According to agency data, the ban on transshipment has increased the price of fish in the city as it had previously supplied 60 percent of the 20 tons of fish needed per day.
