13 foreign firms to invest $120.5m in fishing sector

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A total of 13 overseas companies from China, Thailand and Australia are to invest a total of US$120.5 million in fishing and fish processing ventures around the country, an official from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry says.

"The planned investments comprise fishing operations and the building of fish processing plants in Indonesia as under our current regulations, if they want to fish in our waters, they have to process the fish here," ministry spokesman Saut P. Hutagalung told reporters Friday.

He said that four of the 30 companies had already obtained permits and commenced fishing, with their catches being processed in collaboration with domestic processing firms.

Saud said that the companies would be permitted to use existing processing facilities prior to the construction of their own plants.

The companies have selected Jambi, East Java, Jakarta, Merauke in Papua, and Ambon in Maluku as their processing bases.

Last year, the government issued a decree requiring foreign fishing firms to establish fish processing plants if they wanted to fish in Indonesian waters.

The rule was introduced in light of the fact that most of the fish caught by foreign vessels here in the past ended up being processed abroad, with the state only receiving US$48 per ton of fish caught.

Saut said that besides the overseas investors, 15 local firms had committed themselves to investing around Rp 1.4 billion, with most of them still waiting for the necessary permits.

"However, three companies have already obtained permits, and will begin operations soon,' he added.

Saut said that the ministry believed that the combined investments would provide jobs for some 23,000 local people.

"This is a direct result of the new regulations. And we believe more investment is on the way," he said.

Saud stressed that the fishing licenses of Chinese firms that had been granted under the old rules would not be renewed.

"The licenses for Thailand and the Philippines expired last year while those for China will do so in July. We will not renew these licenses. Instead, they will have to comply with the new arrangements if they wish to fish in Indonesia waters," he explained.