Batang/Rembang, Central Java. Protests by fishermen against Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti’s new ban on the use of some fishing equipment continued in Central Java over the past couple of days, resulting in gridlock on the major highway along the northern coast of Java island and erupting into violence in one town.

Hundreds of people occupied a section of the Pantura Highway in Batang, Central Java, on Tuesday, causing traffic gridlock for several hours before police managed to disperse the crowd following a violent confrontation.

The protestors burned tires and fishing nets on the road in the latest protest against the ministerial regulation, which bans the use of trawls and seine nets to catch fish in Indonesian waters.

The regulation was issued in January, and fishermen in several regions, including West Java, East Java, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara, have since continued to speak out against the ban, conducting rallies in their respective regions, as well as in Jakarta last week.

They have dismissed the ecological concerns cited by Susi as the reason for the new ban, arguing that it is snuffing out their livelihoods, with many of them still relying heavily on the now banned equipment to catch fish.

In Batang on Tuesday, police resorted to using tear gas after protesters refused to move away from the road, despite reports of severe traffic congestion along the highway as a result of their action.

The fishermen retaliated by hurling stones at police, and the demonstration turned violent before officers managed to disperse the crowd. Several protestors were arrested.

“We have arrested a number of people who provoked the crowd,” Batang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widi Atmoko said on Tuesday. “We had no choice but take action because [the protest] had made people worried.”

Several police officers were reportedly injured in the incident. It was not clear how many of the protesters were hurt.

Protest coordinator, Asroli, said after the incident that the fishermen were unhappy with the minister’s refusal to drop the new regulation.

“We’re disappointed. This regulation will destroy the livelihoods of fishermen in Batang and also that of all Indonesian fishermen,” he said.

Tuesday’s protest in Batang was similar to that in Rembang, another Central Java town, on Monday, although the latter did not end in violence.

Hundreds of members of the Rembang United Fishermen’s Front blocked part of the Pantura Highway that passes through Rembang, causing traffic congestion for a few hours before police finally managed to negotiate with the protesters and disperse the crowd peacefully.

Fishermen on the northern coast of Java island are expected to continue their rally against the ban, after their protest outside the Presidential Palace and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ headquarters in Jakarta proved fruitless.

Rofi Munawar, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker, demanded that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries improves communications with fishermen in its implementation of the trawl and seine net ban, and provides solutions to offset the negative impact of the ban on traditional fishermen, the majority of whom still live below the poverty line.

“The violent protest in Batang is a result of escalating protests [against the ban], which have been persistently voiced by fishermen,” said Rofi, also a member of  House of Representatives Commission IV, which oversees agriculture, maritime affairs and fisheries.

“This incident shows communication problems and a lack of alternative solutions from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry to offset the impact of the ban on the fishing equipment the fishermen have been using until now,” he added. “Banning it is one thing, but creating a solution is way more important. Come up with a solution immediately, don’t let this problem drag on.”

Aside from the trawl and seine net ban, fishermen also protested against another new regulation that restricts lobster and crab catches. The regulation stipulates that only lobsters more than eight centimeters in length, crabs measuring more than 15 centimeters and flower crabs longer than 10 centimeters can be caught; and that none carrying eggs can be caught.

Minister Susi has continued to defend the new policies, saying they were meant to ensure sustainable fishing, which would benefit fishermen over the long term. She said in January that the bans were necessary because Indonesian fishermen had become overly dependent on unsustainable fishing methods, including the rampant use of trawls, purse seines and even fish bombs.

The minister said she had continued to disseminate information concerning the regulations to get local fishing communities to accept and abide by them.

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Source: The Jakarta Globe