Red and White Fishermen Villages to boost downstreaming: Minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said the Red and White Fishermen Village is important to strengthen fisheries downstream processing.

He emphasized during a visit to Bintan on Thursday that the program is also designed to improve the welfare of fishermen through a better ecosystem.

Trenggono stated that the village serves as an integrated fisheries ecosystem involving cold chain systems and connectivity with processing industries and markets.

“If this Red and White Fishermen Village runs well, I guarantee product quality will be good because the handling chain is already improved from the start,” Trenggono said as quoted from a ministry's press release.

According to him, the main challenge in the fisheries sector today is improving the upstream sector, starting from production, fish handling, and strengthening the fishermen’s ecosystem.

“That is why the government is working to improve the upstream sector through the KNMP program,” he said.

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The ministry is targeting the development of more than one thousand villages by 2026 across various regions in Indonesia.

The year 2025 marked the initial phase with the development of 100 locations of which 65 sites have been fully completed.

The ministry stated that the Riau Islands is one of the strategic areas for developing the program, given its archipelagic characteristics, high fisheries activity, and proximity to international trade routes.

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Trenggono emphasized that the government ensures that fisheries resources provide maximum benefits for local fishermen and coastal communities.

“The Red and White Fishermen Village program has a huge potential. Regions must actively seize it so that the economic benefits are truly felt by the fishermen communities,” he said.