“Although only 286 vessels were destroyed, 10,000 foreign ships left Indonesian waters. So the deterrent effect is real,” she said, adding that it demonstrated the country’s commitment to fighting illegal fishing.

With a string of measures taken against IUU fishing, the fisherman exchange rate (NTN) — an indicator to measure the welfare of fishermen — had jumped to 110 from 102 over the past one-and-a-half years, she said.

An NTN above 100 indicates that the average fisherman has higher spending power due to surplus revenues.

Implementing a zero tolerance approach for poachers was also crucial to increasing fish stocks in the country’s waters and raising people’s fish consumption, Susi said, adding that the action could ultimately reduce stunting among children.

“The stunting index shows that the quality of human resources in Indonesia needs to be improved […] One-third of Indonesian children suffer from stunting because they consume too little protein,” she said. (win/bbn)

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