Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has reaffirmed its commitment to developing the Red and White Fishing Villages program by providing training to strengthen the capacity of coastal communities.Head of the ministry’s Marine and Fisheries Human Resources Extension and Development Agency, I Nyoman Radiarta, said the training goes beyond fishing techniques to include catch management and marketing.“Therefore, in the development of every Red and White Fishing Village, a community hall is included,” Radiarta said at the ministry’s office in Jakarta on Monday.He explained that the community halls function as centers for learning and collaboration among fishers, cooperative managers, and fisheries extension officers.Radiarta said extension officers will identify the most pressing needs of local communities so that training materials can be adjusted to local conditions and challenges.The training programs target both fishers and managers of the Red and White Village Cooperatives, a government initiative designed to serve as rural economic hubs.Strengthening the cooperatives is considered a key component of the fishing villages program, aimed at ensuring more effective and sustainable catch management and marketing.The Red and White Fishing Village program seeks to empower coastal communities while boosting local economic growth.The initiative focuses not only on physical construction but also on providing essential infrastructure to support daily fishing activities, including docks, roads, drainage systems, and electricity.The fishing villages will also be equipped with supporting facilities such as cold storage units, ice plants, repair workshops, logistics outlets, and fueling stations for fishers.The ministry said the first phase of the program targets 65 locations across Indonesia. A second phase will add 35 more locations, before expanding to a total of 1,000 sites by 2029.It aims to complete the development of 35 Red and White Fishing Villages by the end of January 2026, except for those in several disaster-affected areas, where completion is scheduled for February 2026.