Fishermen Ask for Transition Time to Replace \'Cantrang\'

Kompas/Aditya Putra Perdana

Officers from the Special Team for the Replacement of Fishing Equipment (KKP) from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry check a vessel with cantrang (seine net) fishing equipment at Tegalsari Fishing Port, Tegal, Central Java, on Friday (2/2). In the city of Tegal, 561 ships with cantrang fishing equipment have been recorded and verified as of Thursday (1/2).

TEGAL, KOMPAS — Hundreds of fishermen in Tegal, Central Java, have agreed to halt the use of cantrang (seine net),but they say transition time is needed due to a number of obstacles they must face to fully replace the environmentally unfriendly fishing equipment.

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, through the Special Team for the Replacement of Fishing Equipment (KKP), has begun to register and verify the vessels with cantrang fishing equipment on the northern coast of Java. The verification began in Tegal on Thursday and Friday. In two days, about 200 fishing vessels were recorded and verified.

One of the fishermen, Muhammad Fauzi, 30, said in principle he supported the government’s plan to halt the use of cantrang. However, he said the replacement should be made according to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo\'s recent decision, where there is no deadline to change over to the environmentally friendly equipment.

According to Fauzi, the government and the fishermen must be all ready when the ban on the use cantrang is fully implemented. "We have not been able to change quickly because there are many problems involved with replacing the equipment,” he said.

He said the constraints included financing for the new equipment. “Although there is a loan facility, it doesn\'t really help, because we\'ve already had loans in banks. So it is burdensome. Moreover, we haven\'t conducted fishing activities for at least two months,” he said.

The spokesman of the Alliance of Indonesian Fishermen, Hadi Santoso, said his organization did not oppose the cantrang ban. However, the fishermen would replace the cantrang only when they were all ready to do so, he said. "A lot of things have to be prepared. It will take more than a year," he said.

Based on Kompas’ monitoring, the KKP continued to register and verify the cantrang fishing vessel in Tegal. In addition to verification, the team also interviewed fishermen and directly checked the physical details of the ships, including the name, size and sign.

On Friday, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti attended and visited the location where registration and verifications were carried out. She was closely guarded by police and military personnel.

Susi also greeted a number of ship owners whose documents were being verified in the room. "Fishermen must be honest. If the ship is big, do not say it is small. If there is not enough capital, borrow it from the bank. BRI [Bank Rakyat Indonesia] is ready to help. Don’t miss out on the government’s help," she said.

Susi said the registration and verification were made as a follow-up of the agreement made during a fishermen\'s meeting with President Jokowi at the State Palace two weeks ago.

She said vessels with cantrang were allowed to operate until the replacement of the fishing equipment was fully completed.

Large income

The director general of the fish catchment in the ministry, Sjarief Widjaja, said data collection and verification were carried out to map out the general condition of the fishermen, such as the identity of the ship owners, the number of the ships they own and the sizes and types of fishing equipment they use. Within two days, 200 ships from an estimated total of 370 cantrang fishing vessels in Tegal were registered.

According to Sjarief, based on interviews, the incomes of the owners of cantrang vessels were generally quite high. "For example, a ship with a capacity of 80 gross tons operating with a fishing cost of Rp 400 million can earn an average income of Rp 700 million. The profits are split between two — the owner, and the skipper and crew. They are a small fishing crew," he said.

In Jakarta, the director of ships and fishing equipment at the ministry, Agus Suherman, said as of the end of 2017, as many as 955 cantrang fishing vessels had not changed their fishing equipment. Of the total, 226 vessels have a capacity of between 10 and 30 gross tons, and 568 vessels have a capacity of above 30 gross tons. The other 161 vessels have not been verified.

The executive director of the Center for Maritime Studies for Humanity, Abdul Halim, appreciated the government\'s initiative to accelerate the replacement of cantrang to promote sustainable fisheries management. The problem that should be anticipated in the replacement of fishing equipment is the mechanism of financing and credit payments of large ships.

"It is important to consider the financing and credit repayment programs, especially for large fishing vessels that often are out at sea for months," he said.

(DIT/LKT)