Jakarta, April 30 -- The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries will recruit more than 20,000 crew members to support the operations of 1,582 fishing vessels planned under the government's vessel modernization program.

The ministry's Director General of Capture Fisheries, Lotharia Latif, stated that the demand for labor has emerged as the capture fisheries sector transitions toward a more modern and integrated system.

"Implementing this program requires approximately 20,000 fishing vessel crew members to operate the fleet and will directly impact the involvement of over 500,000 workers within the broader ecosystem," he said during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

Latif noted that the fishing vessel modernization ...