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fter launching various policies and programs to improve the nutritional intake of Indonesians, the government is targeting to increase the country’s fish consumption from 43.88 kilograms to 47.12 kg per capita in 2017.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti is optimistic the target could be achieved as fish stocks in Indonesian waters have continued to improve.

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry predicts the archipelago’s fish stocks to stand at 12.54 million tons, a significant increase from 6.5 million tons in 2014.

“This is the result of [...] Law No. 45/2009 on Fisheries,” Susi said in a public lecture at the Sasana Budaya Ganesha building in Bandung on Friday.

She was referring to the 2009 Fisheries Law and the government’s policy to sink foreign-flagged vessels caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.

Susi further said the policy had deterred businessmen and foreign-flagged vessels from operating illegally in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

It had also contributed to the government’s success in maintaining the sustainability of fish, she said. By curbing illegal fishing, the policy ensured the increase of commercial fish populations across the country.

At the same time, fishermen have been able to reap the economic benefits of the growing abundance of marine resources.

“Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a global enemy. It happens all over the world. Many big vessels come to developing countries, committing transshipment in the middle of the sea and damaging the economy of local fishermen who depend on coastal fisheries for their livelihoods,” Susi said.

She added that the policy had placed Indonesia in the forefront of the ASEAN fish trade. For the first time since 2014, Indonesia’s balance of trade for fish commodity exceeds that of Thailand. In 2016, the value of Indonesia’s fish commodities amounted to US$4 million, compared to less than $3 million for Thailand.

International Trade Center data shows that in 2017, Thailand shifted from being a net exporter of frozen, fresh and live fish to becoming an importer. In 2001, Thailand was among the world’s eight biggest fish exporters, with a fish trade value of $1.1 billion.

“[Thailand] had always been ahead of Indonesia because their fish was from Indonesia,” Susi claimed during the public lecture, which was attended by around 4,000 Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) students.

The minister, who also runs her own fisheries and aviation businesses, explained that 76 percent of Indonesia’s total fish consumption was fresh fish and 15 percent was salted fish. The remainder comprises processed foods.

In the event, Susi discouraged students and lecturers from consuming salted fish.

“The more salted fish you eat, the more rice you will consume along with it. Fish is good because of its protein content. Eating too much rice will instead accumulate carbohydrates [in the body]. This is why you get sleepy [after eating],” Susi said with a smile.

She later warned Indonesians against falling for “fish mafia” smear campaigns attacking the government’s ship sinking policy, as these tactics only aimed at pressuring the state to allow them to fish in Indonesian waters.

Susi said it was impossible for Indonesian law enforcers to fence the ocean surrounding the archipelago, which spans around 97,000 kilometers.

“If the ships belonging to our ministries, the National Police, the Indonesian Military [TNI] and other institutions are put in a row, they are less than 2 km long. Sinking is the only way to [support Indonesia’s law enforcers]; seize the ship, then sink it,” she said.