Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Prabowo Subianto pledged to distribute fishing vessels ranging from five to 30 gross tons to coastal communities, aiming to boost catches and enable longer voyages as part of a national push to modernize fishing villages.The vessel distribution is part of the Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih program, which targets the modernization of 12 million fishing villages across Indonesia, according to Prabowo.“One of our most strategic programs is Kampung Nelayan,” Prabowo said at a national coordination meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Monday. Each village will receive jetties, ice plants, cold storage and fishing boats.Under the plan, villages will be allocated several 5-GT boats and, eventually, larger vessels of up to 30 GT, with the goal of providing at least one larger boat per fishing village.Prabowo said the government has launched a pilot fishing village project in Biak Numfor, Papua, which has demonstrated strong results.“We already have a pilot project in Biak that has proven to increase fishermen’s output by nearly 60 percent,” he said.Indonesia’s Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has begun upgrading fishing villages in recent months, with 19 Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih operating as of early 2026.Modernized villages include sites in Tolitoli in Central Sulawesi, Bumiharjo in Central Java, Pujiharjo in East Java, Lebetawi in Maluku, Gebang Mekar in West Java and Karang Duwur in Central Java.Other upgraded villages are located in Poncosari, Yogyakarta, and Bulukumba in South Sulawesi, according to the ministry.From the Bulukumba fishing village, nearly one metric ton of fresh fish was exported for the first time to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 9, 2026, marking an early commercial milestone.To support vessel procurement, Prabowo traveled to the UK in January to meet Babcock International Group Chief Executive Officer David Lockwood in London.The visit took place during the president’s Jan. 18–21, 2026, trip to the UK and focused on expanding maritime cooperation between the two countries.Babcock, a UK-based global shipbuilder, is expected to support Indonesia’s plan to build 1,500 fishing vessels under the bilateral partnership.Prabowo said the broader initiative is designed to raise fishermen’s incomes, strengthen cold-chain infrastructure and integrate coastal communities into export-oriented seafood supply chains.