pr1v4t33r
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2014
- Messages
- 5,042
- Reaction score
- 5
- Country
- Location
Why East Africa could learn from Indonesia’s response to illegal fishing
When confronted with the threat of illegal fishing overtaking its own domestic fishing industry, Indonesia reacted in a fashion that East African coastal countries like Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya could learn from. A year ago, illegal fishing had reached an unsustainable level so Indonesia forced fishing boats across the archipelago into port for months and implemented a licensing freeze.
During the licensing freeze, Indonesian naval vessels set about restoring order to their highly prized fisheries, and deterring trespassing trawlers with live fire, even sinking Chinese trawlers. With fewer boats on the water, Global Business Guide Indonesia estimates fish stocks have increased by 240 percent. The government say its actions have reduced illegal fishing by 90 percent, and though exports are down, more opportunities have been created for Indonesian fishers, an express aim of the Joko Widodo administration.
Now, Indonesia is airing plans to expand domestic commercial fishing. What we are seeing in Indonesia is a country taking back control of its sovereign offshore waters and empowering its ailing domestic industry.
Countries such as Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Madagascar are desperately in need of such an approach. East African fisheries may not hit the headlines as regularly as their West African counterparts, but they are constantly under the threat.
The fishing industry in the whole continent employs nearly 12.3 million Africans and has the potential to solve nutritional and food security problems for nearly 200 million Africans. And based on Africa’s financial inflows and outflows, UNECA reckons that the continent loses US$42 billion per year through illegal fishing and logging activities.
East African countries need to invest in capable coastal security vessels and modern fishing trawlers in order to reduce the level of illegal overfishing and then rightfully harvest their own offshore resources, be it tuna or other saltwater fish stocks. Mozambique has taken the necessary steps of buying patrol ships to keep watch over their precious tuna stocks and government company EMATUM has also purchased new and efficient trawlers to scale operations.
But these actions need to go further and emulate the levels to which Indonesia goes in order to safeguard its food resources. Once East African coastal nations achieve the balance of coastal security and sustainable fishing stocks that Indonesia is beginning to achieve, then they will truly feel the benefits.
http://ourwatersourfuture.com/portfolio-view/east-africa-learn-indonesias-response-illegal-fishing/
When confronted with the threat of illegal fishing overtaking its own domestic fishing industry, Indonesia reacted in a fashion that East African coastal countries like Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya could learn from. A year ago, illegal fishing had reached an unsustainable level so Indonesia forced fishing boats across the archipelago into port for months and implemented a licensing freeze.
During the licensing freeze, Indonesian naval vessels set about restoring order to their highly prized fisheries, and deterring trespassing trawlers with live fire, even sinking Chinese trawlers. With fewer boats on the water, Global Business Guide Indonesia estimates fish stocks have increased by 240 percent. The government say its actions have reduced illegal fishing by 90 percent, and though exports are down, more opportunities have been created for Indonesian fishers, an express aim of the Joko Widodo administration.
Now, Indonesia is airing plans to expand domestic commercial fishing. What we are seeing in Indonesia is a country taking back control of its sovereign offshore waters and empowering its ailing domestic industry.
Countries such as Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Madagascar are desperately in need of such an approach. East African fisheries may not hit the headlines as regularly as their West African counterparts, but they are constantly under the threat.
The fishing industry in the whole continent employs nearly 12.3 million Africans and has the potential to solve nutritional and food security problems for nearly 200 million Africans. And based on Africa’s financial inflows and outflows, UNECA reckons that the continent loses US$42 billion per year through illegal fishing and logging activities.
East African countries need to invest in capable coastal security vessels and modern fishing trawlers in order to reduce the level of illegal overfishing and then rightfully harvest their own offshore resources, be it tuna or other saltwater fish stocks. Mozambique has taken the necessary steps of buying patrol ships to keep watch over their precious tuna stocks and government company EMATUM has also purchased new and efficient trawlers to scale operations.
But these actions need to go further and emulate the levels to which Indonesia goes in order to safeguard its food resources. Once East African coastal nations achieve the balance of coastal security and sustainable fishing stocks that Indonesia is beginning to achieve, then they will truly feel the benefits.
http://ourwatersourfuture.com/portfolio-view/east-africa-learn-indonesias-response-illegal-fishing/
