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he Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has urged the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) to simplify licensing procedures and provide businesspeople with a lending facility to help boost the fishing industry.

Kadin representatives, accompanied by academics and regional leaders, said in a meeting with Bappenas officials in Jakarta on Wednesday that the government, under its 2020 to 2025 national development plan, should draft policies to encourage these initiatives.

The five-year plan is still being formulated by Bappenas.

Kadin fisheries and maritime chairman Yugi Prayanto said the biggest problem faced by the industry was the slow licensing process, which hindered the operation of new ships.

“Arduous licensing procedures have curtailed the number of fishing boats at sea, thereby limiting the amount of fish that can be caught even if there are sufficient fish resources,” he told The Jakarta Post after the meeting.

Yugi was referring to the requirements for the issuance of fishing licenses (SIPI) and fish-transportation licenses (SIPKI) for all vessels operating in Indonesian waters as mandated by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministerial Regulation No. 17/2006.

According to the regulation, licenses processed by the ministry should take about 46 days.

However, North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey said many fishermen had to wait up to six months for their licenses due to bureaucratic complications in the centralized licensing system, adding that unlicensed vessels were forcibly docked and banned from setting sail.

“We want the central government to clear up the fishing licensing process,” he said.

Olly added that, as governor, he could only issue permits that were valid for three months, while licenses issued by the ministry were valid for up to three years.

Yugi added that the second biggest problem in the fishing industry was the high lending rate, which made it costly to set up aquaculture farms.

Kadin adviser and Bogor Agriculture University lecturer Rokhmin Dahuri said he agreed with Yugi about the detrimental effects caused by the rates.

He added that the lending rate of about 12.6 percent per annum in Indonesia was the highest in Southeast Asia, compared to 8.7 percent in Vietnam and 6.3 percent in Thailand.

As a result, the fishing industry absorbed only 0.38 percent of the total loans worth Rp 89.48 trillion (US$6 billion) disbursed by banks last year.

“Because our interest rates are higher than Thailand’s, it’s no wonder that we cannot beat it in the fishing industry,” Rokhmin said.

He added that the government should create a maritime bank to provide loans exclusively to fishermen and marine farmers with low interest rates and more relaxed requirements.

Despite the shortcomings, Kadin deputy chairman for trade Benny Soetrisno praised the government’s efforts to improve Indonesia’s fishing industry.

He said the government, for example, had been successful in reviving the industry as shown by an increase in catches from 7.3 million tons in 2015 to 12.52 million tons last year.

National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said the fishing industry served not only as an engine for economic growth, but also as a means to reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment. (nor)