Jakarta. The government aims to raise Indonesian fishermen’s annual income by Rp 20.6 trillion ($1.16 billion) through a Rp 125.5 trillion program to modernize the country’s fishing fleet, including the construction of 4,582 new vessels between 2026 and 2029.

The program is expected to increase annual capture fisheries production by up to 2.3 million tons by allowing fishermen to venture farther into offshore fishing grounds that remain underutilized.

“Through this program, the government is targeting an increase in capture fisheries production of up to 2.3 million tons per year, along with an increase in fishermen’s income of Rp 20.6 trillion annually,” Government Communications Agency head Muhammad Qodari told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The fleet will be built in stages, beginning in 2026 with the construction of 50 modern fishing vessels with a capacity of 30 gross tonnage (GT).

Overall, the government has prepared 11 broad categories of vessels with 43 variations in size. The fleet will include purse seiners, gillnet vessels, handline boats, longliners, pole-and-line vessels, carrier and processing vessels, as well as supporting vessels such as ayoda and lighting boats.

The vessels will range in size from 10 GT to 2,500 GT.

The modernization program is designed to expand fishermen’s access to offshore fishing grounds, where Indonesia’s marine resources have yet to be fully utilized, while increasing the economic value generated by the fisheries sector.

The government also expects the program to generate an additional Rp 1.8 trillion in annual non-tax state revenue from fisheries-related natural resources.

Qodari said the construction of the 4,582 vessels would require an estimated Rp 125.5 trillion in investment. The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry will involve domestic shipbuilding companies in the program’s implementation.

“This is considered important to stimulate the domestic economy, create jobs, and encourage the transfer of technology from abroad to Indonesia,” Qodari said.

The fleet modernization program is also expected to create up to 89,000 jobs, including positions for vessel operators, administrative workers, and personnel handling ship documentation.

Of that total, around 55,000 workers will be needed to crew the fishing vessels, including captains, officers, chief engineers, and other crew members.

Through the program, the government is seeking not only to increase Indonesia’s fisheries production but also to strengthen the domestic shipbuilding ecosystem, expand employment opportunities, and raise the economic returns received by fishermen.

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