Fishing in Natuna only for Indonesians: Susi

JAKARTA. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti voiced on Thursday a contrasting opinion to that of former coordinating political, legal, and security affairs minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who said that foreign fishermen should be able to exploit the Natuna Sea as long as they formed a cooperation with local companies.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed Luhut as coordinating maritime affairs minister.

“Only Indonesians can catch fish in Indonesia,” Susi said at the South-East Asia and Pacific Regional Fisheries Summit in Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta on Thursday, adding that Luhut might have forgotten that the fishing industry had been included on the negative investment list.

However, she added the foreign investment was welcome in fishery related businesses. A foreign investor can invest in cold storage, fishing equipment, technology, processing, and marketing.

"We are also campaigning to youngsters that the fishery business is cool. Now they are starting to move into this business,” Susi claimed. (Anton Hermansyah)