PT Perikanan Indonesia (Persero) realized the absorption of fish caught by fishermen of 5,570 tons of fish in the first half of 2022. This is in accordance with the mandate of Government Regulation or PP No. 99 of 2021 so that PT Perikanan Indonesia acts as an off taker for fishermen's catches to increase and support the availability, affordability, inclusiveness, and quality of fisheries. The role of Indonesian Fisheries as an off taker has been further enhanced after the issuance of PP No. 99 of 2021 concerning the Merger of the Company (Persero) PT Perikanan Nusantara into the Limited Liability Company (Persero) PT Perikanan Indonesia. President Director of Fisheries Indonesia Sigit Muhartono said, since the merger of the two fishery SOEs in December 2021, of course this has strengthened the role of Indonesian Fisheries in involving fishermen as the frontline of food security in the fisheries sector.
Sigit explained, Indonesian Fisheries are present as an absorber of the catches of fishermen throughout Indonesia at reasonable and appropriate prices. Until the first semester of 2022, Indonesian Fisheries have purchased 5,570 tons of fish from fishermen. "This is the government's mandate after the merger of Fisheries SOEs. Indonesian fisheries must be able to increase the off-take results of fishermen, the exchange rate of fishermen, and provide convenience for fishermen in producing. This is what we continue to strive for," he said in an official statement received by Kontan.co.id, Friday (22/7). The majority of fish caught by fishermen are absorbed by Indonesian Fisheries, including skipjack, tuna, pufferfish, tuna, deho fish, kite fish, and octopus. The fish were obtained from fishermen in a number of Indonesian fisheries branches, namely in Pekalongan, Belawan, Brondong, Pemangkat, Ambon, Bacan, Benoa, Bitung, Gorontalo, Makassar, Padang, Sorong, Surabaya, and Tegal. "The total number of fishermen partners in Indonesian Fisheries throughout Indonesia is 1,400 fishermen," added Sigit. Sigit revealed that the fish products absorbed by Indonesian Fisheries from fishermen are raw materials that will be processed before being sold. In the processing process, Indonesian Fisheries will focus on product downstreaming to maximize added value.
To support a sustainable fisheries ecosystem, Indonesian Fisheries are supported by supporting infrastructure in all branches in Indonesia. The infrastructure in question is Fish Processing Unit, Cold Storage, Air Blast Freezer, ice factory, ship docking, to ocean and archipelago class fishing ports. Previously, Deputy Minister of SOEs I Pahala Nugraha Mansury said the fishery sector is one of the commodities that must be prioritized to achieve food security. According to Pahala, the merger of fisheries SOEs is one of the efforts to improve the food sector by increasing the contribution of Indonesian fisheries to the inclusiveness or involvement of fishermen.
