VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has designated Tomalou Village in North Maluku province as a fisherman's village area, along with four other regions in Indonesia.

Head of Maritime Affairs, North Maluku branch, Komarudin, said that Tomalou has been designated as an advanced fishing village.

"It is expected that this will improve policies and programs that are appropriate as a fishing village, especially regarding empowerment in the Tomalou fishing village," he added.

He said that the strategy was important to support a sustainable program based on the empowerment of Tomalou fishermen.

"(The program will cover) Not only increasing capture fisheries, but also marketing and processing fishery products, which business specifications are meant for development," he informed.

In addition, the infrastructure of fishing villages must be met, such as clean seas and streets, he said. It requires cooperation with other sectors on whys to maintain them as advanced fishing villages, he added.

Since Tomalou has been designated as an advanced fishing village, its potential needs to be gauged and identified, such as by noting the amount of fish produced, then developing the agricultural sector, then planning for its development in the marine and fisheries sector, he advised.

"In the future, Tomalou, which is an example of a fisheries center in North Maluku, will not stop there, but we will develop it further regarding the empowerment of fishing communities that is appropriate in terms of facilities and infrastructure," he said.

Komarudin said other districts will be encouraged to develop their fishing villages since Tomalou is the only village to be deemed a fishing village in North Maluku currently.

The ministry is committed to pushing other districts to develop advanced fishing villages just like Tomalou so they are not considered backward in the fisheries and marine sector, he said. This will be done through a similar identification and gauging process as North Maluku, and even replicated on the national scale, he added.

In 2022, there will be about 10 developed fishing villages throughout Indonesia and the North Maluku village will be among them, he said. However, the result of the identification is awaited to see if the village has made it to the list, he added.

Separately, head of the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Office of North Maluku province, Abdullah Assagaf, pointed out that the Tomalou fishing village had actually been proposed to the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry, in accordance with the ministry's program. (antaranews)