Revealed! This is a row of causes of the Numpuk fishing boat in Muara Angke

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has revealed a number of causes of the density of fishing vessels at the Nusantara Fishing Port (PPN) Muara Angke, Jakarta.

Director General of Fisheries Capture KKP Lotharia Latif revealed that this condition was caused by many aspects, such as the number of boats is not in accordance with the capacity of the pond, bad weather to the cause of the arrangement of the flow of entry and exit and mooring in the port.

Latif said that of the approximately 2,506 vessels identified as having central permits and based in PPN Muara Angke, as many as 2,092 vessels have issued extensions of their permits for the 2026 fishing season. However, he said, the fishermen have not yet left the port because the weather is still bad.

Meanwhile, the rest have not processed the extension of fishing permits because there are several conditions that have not been met.

"So the issue that mentions the licensing problem as an obstacle is actually not appropriate and is not the cause of the ship's density at Muara Angke Port," said Latif in an official broadcast in Jakarta, Monday, February 2.

He explained that the characteristics of the fleet in Muara Angke were dominated by ships measuring 5-30 GT, so that the number was relatively more. Ships of that size are centrally licensed because they are the result of the migration of regional permits, which are now required to have a central license because they operate above 12 nautical miles.

This condition is different from large ships measuring over 100 GT as recorded at the Nizam Zachman Port, including large-sized transport ships, so that the number of ship units is less but the tonnage is larger.

His party has also implemented a moratorium on the provision of port bases at the Muara Angke Port since the beginning of January for new ships or will move to the Muara Angke Port. This is done to prevent the addition of ship density at the Muara Angke Port until there is an increase in dock capacity and port basins.

Meanwhile, based on coordination with the Jakarta regional government, as many as 365 fishing vessels need to be relocated to open the shipping channel. Thus, the safety of navigation and the smoothness of loading and unloading can be maintained.

According to Latif, the Muara Angke Port is one of the fishing ports with the highest activity level in Indonesia. Therefore, the lack of favorable weather factors and the fishing season can result in many ships returning to the port at the same time.

"In the future, it is necessary to expand the port, both in Muara Angke or Muara Baru, the regulation of ships is damaged and stuck to be pulled out of the port," he said.

"This damaged and stranded ship also requires cooperation with the ship owner to determine whether it will be scrapped/scrapped or still wants to be repaired. What is clear is that it must not be in the operational port area, because it greatly interferes with the arrangement and entry and exit routes of the ship," he continued.

As a handling step, KKP asked the local government as the owner of the Muara Angke PPN to conduct a census of ship data, which is still active/inactive or has been damaged and stranded, the determination of the anchorage zoning and the arrangement of the ship's movement flow which must be obeyed by all ship owners.

Consolidation and meetings with ship owners are also being carried out to carry out joint arrangements.

"The control of the number of ships in the Muara Angke Port will be strengthened through the mechanism of port base recommendation letters, so that ship activities in the port can be more orderly and well documented," he explained.

He assessed that the crowded fishing vessels in Muara Angke and several fishing ports in Java Island also showed that the concept of port zoning in the Catch of Measurable Fish (PIT) policy was urgent to be fully implemented.

From the number of ships currently based in Muara Angke, continued Latif, as many as 517 of them or about 21 percent of the population, the fishing area is not in Zone 06 (WPP 712-713). So, when the PIT concept is fully implemented, these ships should not be based in Angke, but in fishing ports according to their fishing zone.

"Thus, Angke's density will decrease and economic growth will be more even," he explained.

Meanwhile, Head of the Food, Maritime and Agriculture Resilience Service, Hasudungan A. Sidabalok, said that his party continued to collaborate with various parties, including the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, so that fishing boat activities in Muara Angke PPN are more optimal.

"The moratorium on new permits that require a base in the Angke PPN is one of the efforts to maintain the smooth operation of ships in addition to other efforts, including the development of Angke in the future," he said.