From the Indonesian East Coast, Fany and Nova were named Inspirational Women 2025

JAKARTA - Two female fishermen from Southeast Maluku and West Papua won the 2025 Inspirational Women award from the Ministry of Empowerment of Women and Child Protection (KemenPPPA). The award was given in an agenda with the theme "Women with Power and Work, Towards Golden Indonesia 2045" which emphasizes the strategic role of women in national development.

Deputy Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Didit Herdiawan Ashaf said the award recipients were Sri Fany Mony and Nova Theodora J.M. Essuruw, who were judged to have successfully encouraged real change in coastal communities through innovation and women's leadership.

"Sri Fany Mony showed a significant transformation in the empowerment of coastal women. From a housewife without economic activities, she now leads a productive group with real economic impact," Didit said in a statement on Wednesday, December 24.

Sri Fany Mony is the Chairperson of the Dullah Tama Processing and Marketing Group (Poklahsar) in Ohoi Watkidat, Southeast Maluku. The group he leads develops various processed fish and ecoprint craft products.

Throughout 2025, Poklahsar Dullah Tama recorded revenue of IDR 44.1 million or increased by around 16 percent compared to the previous year, and actively shared good practices at the national and international levels.

Meanwhile, Nova Theodora J.M. Essuruw, a Protestant pastor and head of the region in Teluk Arguni, Kaimana, is considered to have brought innovation in the management of fishery resources. Through the Seraphim Bofuwer Group, Nova initiated the use of Chinese snapper fish, which had previously been thrown away.

"Chinese snapper fish, which was only taken by the bubbles of its swim bladder, is now processed into various nutritious food products with economic added value," said Didit.

Processed products include fish abalone, sambal, and fish soy sauce. This initiative not only reduces the waste of fishery resources, but also increases the family's food security and opens up new income opportunities for coastal women. Through the marketing network that has been built, Seraphim Bofuwer's products now reach Fakfak, Sorong, Timika, to Jayapura.

Director General of Fisheries Capture KKP, Lotharia Latif, explained that this award was given through a collaborative selection process between the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and KKP by considering women's leadership, socio-economic impact, and contribution to sustainable fisheries management.

"Both are considered not only as economic actors, but also community drivers and pioneers in the application of ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches," said Lotharia.

Sri Fany and Nova are also the CFI Indonesia Champion, part of the GEF-6 CFI Indonesia Project which is a collaboration between the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and WWF-US as a Global Environment Facility Agency. This project focuses on strengthening sustainable fisheries governance in the eastern Indonesian region.

CFI Indonesia Project Manager Adipati Rahmat Gumelar said Champion was prepared as a change agent so that the impact of the program would continue even after the project ended.

"Champions are equipped with technical and leadership skills to be able to strengthen communities and encourage sustainable fishing practices," he said.

Since it started in 2019 to 2026, the Project GEF-6 CFI Indonesia has reached more than 5,500 fishermen, of which about 32 percent are women. This program encourages the strengthening of the supply chain, processing of value-added fisheries products, and the development of sustainable blue economy.

Previously, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono emphasized that empowering female fishermen contributes directly to the family economy and the social-ecological resilience of the coast.

"Indonesian female fishermen are increasingly asserting their role in realizing Indonesia's Gold 2045," he said.