Fishery Business Actors Request Unrestricted Logistic Shipping Access

Fishery business illustration. (Photo: Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has requested that access to delivery of production facilities and logistics in the marine and fisheries sector is not restricted. This, especially in areas that have become red zones for the corona virus pandemic or COVID-19.

The spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia has been widespread, along with that there have been complaints from fishery business actors who are constrained in access to and from the area. Especially for areas that impose restrictions and closure of access to these areas.

The constraints faced by these business actors are not in line with President Joko Widodo's directives who asked the regions to facilitate access to logistical deliveries to supply the food needs of the community.

KKP's Cultural Fisheries Director General, Slamet Soebjakto, requested that access to the delivery of production inputs including fish feed, broodstock or prospective broodstock, seeds, seaweed seeds and other production facilities as well as aquaculture and fisherman production products be made easier and are not restricted.

Slamet said, as directed by the president in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government must ensure that people's productivity, purchasing power and food supply are maintained.

"The fisheries sector, especially the aquaculture sub-sector, is closely related to the problem of food supply for the community," he said, through a written statement received by VOI, in Jakarta, Thursday, April 2.

According to Slamet, the biggest challenge in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak is to ensure that food supply, including fish products, can be distributed properly.

Slamet reminded that fishery products can be available if production continues. Therefore, the CTF has prepared a strategy. One of them is to encourage the distribution of production facilities assistance and ensure that the fish logistics system is not disrupted.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said Slamet, has sent a letter of request to the task force to accelerate handling of COVID-19 to guarantee access to and from the distribution of fishery production inputs and fish logistics to various regions. This is important to provide business certainty, especially for fisheries MSMEs.

"The Minister has sent an official letter to the President, through the Chief Executive of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19, Pak Donny (Monardo). The point is asking that access to distribution of production inputs and fish logistics will not be disrupted," he said.

According to Slamet, the letter of application was also copied to the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Home Affairs, the TNI Commander, the Chief of Police, to the Governors and Regents / Mayors throughout Indonesia.

In addition, Slamet asked for directions from related parties regarding protocols or technical SOPs in the field that must be carried out by cultivators or fishery business actors.

"Do we need to bring a cover letter or something like what, we will wait. Hopefully in the near future it will be clear. My message is that the perpetrators do not need to worry, the KKP always monitors every incident in the field and is ready to be present at any time," he said.

Previously, the results of field monitoring showed that several fishery entrepreneurs in Pati Regency were forced to temporarily suspend their fish shipments to Jakarta. This is due to concerns about the closure of access.

In West Java, 20 tonnes of independent fish feed aid from Pangandaran was delayed for one day due to the difficulty of access to the red zone. Recently, the Association of Animal Feed Entrepreneurs has also asked the government not to restrict access to feed shipments to various regions, if the regional quarantine policy is enforced.