Fisheries Ministry Intensifies Campaign Against Fish Bombing

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Marine and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) has intensified the campaign against fish bombing in areas where the practice is prevalent in Central Sulawesi province, a senior official has said.

The campaign against fish bombing will be intensified as part of efforts to support the implementation of blue economy, healthy sea, and Prosperous Indonesia (Indonesia Sejahtera) program launched some time ago, the ministry’s marine and fisheries resource supervisory (PSDKP) director general Adin Nurawaludin said in a press statement issued on Saturday.

“In a bid to protect the world’s biosphere reserves and to boost the implementation of blue economy, of course, we do not only apply the law enforcement approach, but also raise public awareness as one of the important instruments,” he noted.

Campaigns and information dissemination against destructive fishing, particularly fish bombing, need to be carried out continually since fish bombing is widely prevalent in some regions, he said.

Moreover, the public should be educated about the negative impacts of fish bombing, he added.

“We should edify them about the importance of preserving the marine and fisheries resources as well as the negative impacts of fish bombing for its sustainability,” he remarked.

According to the Tojo Una-Una district administration, its Togean biosphere reserve area spans 2,187,632 hectares, with its coral triangle having the most coral diversity in the world, besides mangrove forests and small island ecosystems.

“That’s why this area should be preserved from fishing activities with destructive tools akin to fish bombs,” marine resource management supervisory director general Halid K Jusuf said.

The campaign against fish bombing is the second to be conducted by the ministry in Tojo Una-Una district, he said. It is part of the government’s efforts to monitor and raise public awareness on sustainability in a bid to slash the destructive fishing in the region, he added.

“These biosphere reserves are ideal areas to test the approach pertaining to sustainable marine and fisheries development,” Jusuf remarked.

To tackle destructive fishing, the PSDKP directorate general organized a campaign and information dissemination on destructive fishing mitigation from November 2-5, 2021 in Tojo Una-Una district, Central Sulawesi, he informed.

Not only fishermen in Togean Islands, but also elementary students participated in the campaign, which aimed at edifying the younger generation on the importance of preserving marine resources for future life, he added.

Read: Western Indian Ocean Declares 143 Marine, Coastal Areas as Protected

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