Talking Indonesia

Illegal, undocumented and unregulated fishing became one of the most prominent issues of the first term Jokowi government. Its prominence arose in part because of repeated confrontations at sea with the fishing fleets and coastguard of China and Vietnam, but more notably owing to the hardline enforcement approach of Jokowi’s first term fisheries minister, Susi Pudjiastuti. Susi’s use of explosives to sink siezed foreign vessels and her high media profile made her one of President Jokowi’s most popular ministers, but she was not re-appointed in Jokowi’s second term cabinet. But how did Susi transform Indonesia’s fisheries industry during her tenure? And what does her her replacement tell us about the sustainability of her approach to combating illegal fishing? In this week's Talking Indonesia podcast, Dr Dave McRae discusses these issues with Dr Fabio Scarpello, lecturer in politics and international relations in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland. Dr Scarpello is the author of ‘Susi Versus th