April 2014

MDPI celebrating our partner fishermen: a range of events in MDPI field sites to appreciate the ongoing partnership we have built with the communities across Indonesia

In order to celebrate all the fisherman the Foundation Masyarakat dan Perikanan, Indonesia ( MDPI ) works with, we initiated an event this April 6, which incorporated the fishermen , their families  and local government bodies. MDPI coordinated all its working field sites, namely Kupang , Maumere , Ambon, Lombok and Bone to conduct activities fitting to the theme ” Towards Sustainable Fisheries: Better future for Indonesian fishermen ” .

The activities included a cooking competition for the fishermen’s wives, various video screening events, group discussions on current issues and problems of fisheries and lastly open MDPI offices where coffee and snacks were available for everyone. These activities are carried out simultaneously on April 5 (Maumere and Bone) and & 7 April 2014 (Lombok and Kupang). These simple activities had a strongly positive response from the communities….positives highlighted were increased Fishermen awareness, the role of MDPI in the community’s was reaffirmed and the issue of seafood as an important source of protein, especially in rural coastal communities, was highlighted.

Video screenings in several locations showed, among others, the I- Fish video (explaining how the MDPI port sampling is conducted and the importance of improved data for Indonesia); a turtles life and its journey through the oceans; what to do with a turtle if it is accidentally captured; a video documentary on fishing activities and also some entertainment films.

The discussion ranged from the obstacles faced by fishermen within their field, the importance of data collection and possible solutions towards together achieving sustainable fisheries.