Indonesian Fishing Policy Trap

Abstract

Indonesia faces challenges in its sustainable fisheries management. Various policies have been issued as the effort to solve this problem. One of which is the prohibition on the use of fishing gear called Cantrang. However, the policy received rejection from various parties. This study aims to identify stakeholders who reject the policies as well as their reasons for rejecting the policies. Using a qualitative descriptive method, it is revealed that policy refusal arises from various stakeholders, including Indonesian Fishermen's Alliance, Members of the House of Representatives of Indonesia, Ministry of Industry and fish processing industry. The reason for the rejection is due to the fact that the policy for prohibiting the use of Cantrang is unfair and not profishermen. In contrast, the stakeholders who are pro towards the policy are from Association of Indonesian Fishermen and WWF by considering the reason that the use of Cantrang as a fishing gear will damage the habitat in the sea. The strong opposition on the policy of fishing gear (Cantrang) prohibition results in policy trap since there are many trade-offs in this policy. This study suggests that this policy requires intense communication among the stakeholders. Keywords—Policy, Fishing Gear, Policy Trap