Extended maritime Jurisdiction and Indonesian Fisheries Development

With the declaration of the Indonesian EEZ by Presidential Decree on 21 March 1980, Indonesia has acquired a vast area of approximately 5.8 million sq. km. of sea water and opportunity to manage and utilize fisheries resources in the new extended areas of jurisdiction. The EEZ is giving many more potential fishing resources and greater opportunities to exploit its available fishery resources with responsibilities to conserve the resources. By exercising a high degree of its authority within the EEZ, Indonesia can gain more benefits from the use of fishery resources than before the declaration. However, the benefits may not be particularly great since Indonesia must bear the management cost of the acquired resources, and to share with its neighboring state and foreign distant-water nations. With regard to the exploitation of fishery stocks in the EEZ, government of Indonesia has introduced a set of rules and regulations on sovereign rights, jurisdiction and other obligations related to the EEZ. The arrangement of foreign fishing fleets have been set up by enacting 4 decrees of the Ministry of Agriculture. Recognizing the nature of the highly migratory species and the stocks that have to be shared with neighboring states, regional cooperation on the management of the stocks is necessary, to be implemented through bilateral as well as multilateral agreements. Sincere there is no fishery management system presently existing in the Southeast Asian region, Indonesia could profitably conclude bilateral or multilateral arrangements with its neighboring states to implement regional cooperatio