The sun was setting over Momojiu Village in Morotai when a small crowd began to gather at the beach. Buckets and basins lined up on the sand, ready to be filled with the day’s catch. A cooler box stood nearby, waiting to store the larger tuna, each weighing more than 20 kilograms, soon to be offloaded after a 14-hour fishing trip, 60 miles out to sea.

As the boats docked, smaller tuna were immediately brought to the shore where Mama Melanie, a local fishmonger, swiftly cleaned and gutted the fish for customers waiting by the water.

“The fish processing company only takes full-sized tuna,” she said while handing over a freshly cut piece to her buyer. “So, we sell smaller fish right here or go door to door across villages on our motorcycles. When there’s a big catch, prices drop, and sometimes, we can’t sell them all. The rest just spoils.”

This story is one example of many challenges faced by small-scale fishers in Indonesia’s remote islands. In Morotai, limited access to cold storage and low prices during peak seasons often forces fishing families to watch their hard-earned catch go to waste. In Tanimbar, long transport distances and limited cold-chain facilities present additional challenges for small-scale fishers to maintain product quality and value. For many fisherwomen like Mama Melanie, who manage household incomes and market the fish, the challenge is not about catching more, but saving what is already caught.

Post-harvest challenges remain one of the key constraints for Indonesia’s small-scale fisheries, especially in outer island regions where long distribution routes and uneven infrastructure make it difficult to preserve fish quality. The Ministry of Marine Affairs (KKP, 2024)  notes that cold-chain and processing infrastructure remain unevenly distributed, particularly along fish logistics corridors, while many small-scale processing business still face limited capacity. Strengthening fisheries value chains, from handling and processing to marketing, is critical to boosting local incomes and supporting an inclusive blue economy. Empowering women fishers through fish product diversification trainings could turn unsold or low-value catch into marketable products that extend shelf life, improve income stability, and strengthen local value chains.

Turning Skills into Sustainability

To tackle the challenge of post-harvest fish loss, UNDP Indonesia partnered with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), with support from the Government of Japan through the JSB-seaBLUE Project, to deliver a series of fish product diversification trainings in October 2025. Building on Japan’s previous initiatives to promote sustainable fisheries and strengthen cold-chain infrastructure in remote islands across Indonesia, UNDP continues this collaboration to enhance sustainable fisheries practices in Eastern Indonesia.

These sessions were held in two key locations—Morotai Island and the Tanimbar Islands Regencies—bringing together 150 fisherwomen from five villages to learn practical skills that transform their catch into high-value products. Facilitated by trainers from the Training and Extension Center for Fisheries or Balai Pelatihan dan Penyuluhan Perikanan (BP3) Ambon, the sessions focused on food hygiene, safe processing, cooking techniques, cost calculation, and packaging methods to extend shelf life and make products ready for broader markets.

Participants practiced making a variety of fish products, such as fish cake, fish nuggets, fish sausage, fish chips, even fish-paste noodles designed to last longer without losing flavor or freshness. These skills help women transform smaller tuna and bycatch into marketable goods, turning potential losses into profitable products.

For Ibu Yeni from Wawama Village, the training presented new choices for a livelihood she could sustain as she grows older. She usually helps her husband sell their daily catch door to door, riding her motorcycle for two to three hours across nearby villages, or even farther, to avoid letting the fish go to waste. “I hope I can retire from going around selling fish in the next two years,” she said with a smile. “Through this training, I learned how fish can be turned into many different products. I think I could start selling them online, maybe through Facebook, or even to the students going to the elementary school near my house,” she said.  

For many participants, the training opened their eyes to new possibilities. Wahyu Retno Aris, S.St.Pi, a First Instructor at BP3 Ambon said that this was the first time many of the participants realized that fish could be processed into a variety of products with market value.

“When women gain confidence and creativity in processing fish, it means mothers in our villages can play a real role in improving our families’ welfare,” said the Head of Fisheries Extension Working Team, BP3 Ambon Agustina Sopaheluwakan, S.Pi., M.Si. in her speech as she closed the training.

From Local Kitchens to Resilient Communities

The training is part of the project’s ongoing effort to reduce post-harvest fish loss and strengthen community resilience in Indonesia’s outer islands. This initiative promotes inclusive blue economy practices that fisheries value chains and sustainable livelihoods.  By empowering women fishers with knowledge and technical skills, the project encourages communities to add value locally, building stronger, more sustainable livelihoods.

This initiative is more than training—it’s a step toward resilience. By equipping fisherwomen with skills to transform their catch into high-value products, UNDP Indonesia and its partners are helping coastal communities secure sustainable livelihoods and contribute to an inclusive blue economy. When women lead, communities thrive—and the ocean remains a source of life for generations to come (*). 
 

Learn more about UNDP Indonesia’s efforts to empower coastal communities and promote sustainable fisheries at www.undp.org 

Written by: Anastasia Weningtias

Edited by: Thomas Benmetan