aritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has claimed further international recognition, winning “The Seafood Champion Award for Leadership” from the ocean conservation group SeaWeb.
SeaWeb, a project of the United States-based non-government organization The Ocean Foundation, chose Susi for the 2017 award following her strong efforts to improve the sustainability of seafood both in local communities and worldwide.
Maritime and Fisheries Ministry secretary-general Rifky Effendi Hardijanto represented Susi — who was attending the United Nations Ocean Conference in New York — to accept the award in Seattle, Washington during the SeaWeb Seafood Summit.
"When she [Susi] accepted the mandate from President Joko Widodo to be Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister, she understood that it was her responsibility to ensure that the sea, as Indonesia’s biggest asset, would benefit the nation and future generations,” he said on Tuesday.
The Ocean Foundation president Mark Spalding said the champions demonstrated that courage and creativity could drive progress in seafood sustainability worldwide. This year, five winners — in the four award categories — were chosen from 115 nominees from 43 countries.
“These champions have made smart use of strategies and tools tailored to their unique situations. Some employed teamwork and diplomacy to patiently overcome resistance. Others took bold actions,” he said. “Pudjiastuti has taken a hard line against illegal, unregulated and unreported [IUU] fishing, fought against the use of forced labor on fishing vessels and banned the use of bottom trawlers in Indonesia,”
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