Selasa 16 Sep 2014 10:57 WIB

Indonesian fishermen might suffer more under AEC

Red: Yeyen Rostiyani
A fisherman spills the day's catch in Tegal, Central Java, recently. Illegal fishing undermined Indonesian economy and cause a huge amount of financial loss.
Foto: Antara/Oky Lukmansyah
A fisherman spills the day's catch in Tegal, Central Java, recently. Illegal fishing undermined Indonesian economy and cause a huge amount of financial loss.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian fishermen might suffer more when the ASEAN Economic Community is implemented in 2015, according to an environmentalist organization, Walhi.

Under the present condition, Indonesia should not be too quick to commit itself to ASEAN free market, an official of Walhi, Edo Rakhman, said on Monday. With the level of welfare was still below the average, it would be difficult for Indonesian fishermen to compete in ASEAN free market, he added.

"You could not expected to stand a competition in a free market when you still have problem in feeding your family," Rakhman said then criticizing the government privatization policy wich allowing control of coastal areas by both domestic and foreign investors.

"Not to mention illegal fishing, which is still rampant in the country's waters with no effective law enforcement," he said.