unesa.ac.id , Surabaya - every April 6, Indonesia commemorates National Fishermen Day. This warning is an important momentum to appreciate the role of fishermen in maintaining food security, especially for Indonesia as a maritime country that is rich in marine resources.
Responding to this, Prof. Isnawati, Deputy Dean of Learning, Research, and Community Service, Student Affairs, and Alumni Faculty of Food Security (FKP) ,
He emphasized that the role of fishermen is vital in ensuring the availability of animal protein for the people of Indonesia. Fishermen play a major role in supporting national food security, especially in meeting the supply of animal protein from sea catchment.
"However, most of our fishermen still use traditional equipment and do not yet have insight into the sustainability of marine resources," he said.
According to him, the practice of fishing through the use of tools that are not environmentally friendly deal directly with the problem of environmental sustainability.
To overcome these challenges, Isnawati encourages education and technology -based assistance. One of them is the processing of catches that are less attractive to the market into high economic value products, such as nuggets based on fish with natural prebiotic content.
"In the Faculty of Food Security Unesa, we developed a variety of innovative processed products from fish that are less desirable, such as nuggets of robiotics, which utilize indigenous microorganisms from fish for body health," he explained.
sustainable.
The government is expected to facilitate modern equipment equipment, including more sophisticated fishing equipment and capture zone policies in favor of small fishermen.
"Many fishermen cannot reach waters of more than 12 miles due to limited tools. business diversification. Jombang's born academics suggested that fishermen not only rely on fish catches, but also develop other businesses such as seaweed cultivation and other fishery products.
Regarding the welfare of fishermen, Isnawati considered that most of the fishermen were still below the welfare standard. Therefore, there needs to be a synergy between government policies, academic assistance, and strengthening the capacity of fishermen.
Therefore, UNESA through Faculty of Food Security is ready to contribute in supporting the blue economy and national food security.
"We print human resources who not only understand theory, but also have skills in the field of fisheries and marine. We teach them to implement smart aquaculture technology, including monitoring water quality ponds and early warning systems to decreased oxygen or contamination levels," he explained.
Furthermore, he also emphasized the importance of downstreaming fishery products, ranging from traditional to modern processing, as a strategic step to increase the added value and welfare of fishermen.
"My hope, fishermen in the future become smarter, skilled, and able to adapt to technological developments and have a role in various pillars of food security, ranging from production to processing," he concluded. [*]
***
Reporter: Sindy Riska Fadillah (Fisipol)
Editor: @zam*
Photo: Freepik.com
Share It On:
