REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has called on all parties to stop wasting their energy by disputing for issues on vessel seines (cantrang), which is unfriendly to the environmental, adding that controversy on a policy is common.

"President (Joko Widodo) has asked me not to waste my energy by disputing for vessel seines," Susi said, on the sideline of a national meeting on illegal fishing here, on Tuesday.

Susi saw that the protest by a group of fishermen in front of Merdeka Palace earlier on the day was not unusual, because in 2016, they had staged a similar protest against the ban on vessel seines.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of fishermen grouped under the Alliance of Indonesian Fishermen staged a protest in front of the Merdeka Palace to express their concern on some of the ministry's regulations, including the ban on vessel seines.