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Distribution disruption hurts thousands of NTT fishermen
A decline in fish production and a fall in prices have severely affected the livelihoods of about 66,525 fishing households comprising 226,526 people.
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Fishermen load sharks onto a small truck at a fish auction market in Karangsong, Indramayu, West Java (Antara/Dedhez Anggara)
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ishermen in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have suffered a major decline in their income not only because of smaller fish catches but also as a result of a fall in prices because of distribution disruption caused by emergency measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, a survey says.
According to a survey conducted by local NGO Perkumpulan Pikul, the revenue losses could amount to Rp 2 trillion (US$133.8 million) in 2020.
The survey also found that the decline in fish production and the fall in prices have severely affected the livelihoods of about 66,525 fishing households comprising 226,526 people.
“These figures are related to the COVID-19 impact on fishermen and small-scale fisheries in mid-April,” the organization’s program manager Andry Ratumakin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said fish production in the province had declined sharply in recent months because of rough seas that hampered fishing activities. Andry estimated that fish production would decline by 50 percent this year to 78,845 tons from about 157,691 tons in the previous year.
Despite the fall in production, the province will still enjoy a surplus, because the fish consumption of the province’s 5.4 million population is expected only to reach 12,860 tons a year, he said.
“NTT still has a surplus of 65,985 tons of fish. The problem is how we distribute it amid the movement restrictions for COVID-19,” Andry said, adding that the distribution problem had caused a fall in fish prices by between 50 and 75 percent.
To maintain the people’s purchasing power and provide them with high-protein foods, the NGO urged the government to provide relief funds for local fishermen affected by the distribution disruption.
The organization also urged the government to help bridge fish producers with buyers by re-opening the access to market with sufficient health protocols, while also instructing civil servants to purchase fishery products.
“The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry could also purchase fishery products and distribute them to the people and purchase other products made by local producers to keep the rural area’s economic engine running,” Andry said.
To cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income families, the NTT provincial administration has allocated Rp 957 billion from the central government's village fund program, the province’s development planning and research agency head Lecky Koli said.
“Out of the Rp 3 trillion village funds allocated to our province, we took Rp 957 billion to help low-income citizens affected by COVID-19,” he said.
The funds will be given to low-income families who have not received other social security programs such as the Family Hope Program and noncash staple aid, Lecky added.
“We are aiming to provide income for poor people who haven’t been registered, who have lost their job because of COVID-19, and those who are terminally ill,” he said, adding that the recipients would receive Rp 600,000 in cash for three consecutive months. (mpr)
