Indonesia's newly-appointed Marine and Fishery Affairs Minister Susi Pudjiastuti on Tuesday suggested that more airstrips would be built to facilitate the transportation of fishes as fresh fish products would help increase the benefits of fishermen.
Speaking in her office here, Susi said that lack of proper transportation has reduced the value of fishes that fishermen captured in the sea to an estimated 10 percent.
"A lot of fishes died while they were transported to the markets, which reduced the value of the fishes," she said.
The minister said that by using planes, fishermen would be able to cut short the time of transportation and their fishes will be sold alive in the market.
The minister, who has profound experiences in transporting fresh fishes and lobsters directly to markets, added that she would push forward regional administrations to build small airstrips.
According to her, the cost to construct runways to facilitate small planes for fish transportation would not exceed 20 billion rupiah (about 1.6 million U.S. Dollars).
The newly-appointed minister has stepped down from management board of her airlines business that provides passenger and fresh fish transportation by to various destinations across the country, using small planes
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in the inauguration ceremony that his government would prioritize development in the maritime sector for greater benefits from waters covering most of the nation's territory.