Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan said strengthening law enforcement in the maritime sector was one step toward reaching a target of at least 120 on the Fishermen's Exchange Rate (NTN) by 2027.
"Our target, set by the President, is to carry out a massive breakthrough this year and next year, so that this (fishermen's) exchange rate can increase," Hasan said at the inauguration and launch of the Lobster Seed Smuggling Eradication Task Force at the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry office here on Monday.
He explained President Prabowo Subianto tasked the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry with various breakthroughs to improve fishermen's welfare, including raising the NTN which is targeted to reach at least 120 next year.
"From 103, by next year it should be at least 120," he said, mentioning that NTN in 2025 was around 103.9.
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According to him, the condition shows the need for bigger steps to improve the welfare of people who depend on capture fisheries for their livelihood.
"There are fishing villages and so on. One of those factors is law enforcement," he said.
According to the performance report of the Ministry's Directorate General of Capture Fisheries, NTN realization in 2025 reached 103.86, up from 101.76 in 2024, but still below the 2025 target of 105.
Meanwhile, the latest data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) showed the national NTN in September 2026 was 108.85, down 0.17 percent from 109.04 in August 2026.
The decline occurred because the index of prices received by fishermen rose 0.62 percent, lower than the 0.79 percent rise in the index of prices paid by fishermen.
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The NTN compares the index of prices received by fishermen with the index of prices paid for household needs and fishing business activities.
Hasan assessed that improving fishermen's welfare needs to be accompanied by efforts to safeguard maritime resources, so that the economic benefits can be enjoyed by Indonesians.
One step he deemed important is strengthening law enforcement against lobster seed smuggling, which could reduce the economic benefits of national fisheries resources.
Besides law enforcement, the government is also developing the Red and White Fishermen's Village program to strengthen storage facilities, shorten distribution chains, and increase the economic value of fishermen's catches.
The ministry targets building the program in 1,000 locations, with a development target of 5,000 locations by 2029.
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Translator: Aria, Kenzu
Editor: Fransiska Ninditya
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