What To Do When Sailing For The Very First Time

Our fishing boat, IJ, sailed off for the very first time a couple of days after the New Year. The operator, Atan, actually wanted to sail right away after having the boat blessed and dedicated to the Lord. However, I was not able to give them the starting capital because our fund depository bank was closed during the Christmas day. Also, most of the fishing supplies stores were closed and they were unable to buy all the things they needed for their first trip.

Tuna fishing boat sailing off to Indonesia.

Ramil explained to me how things would go during the very first trip of the tuna fishing boat into the Indonesian waters. First, it should fish for tuna on their way to the Indonesian port. Once it docks at Betung, Indonesia, it must secure a "pas kecil" which means "a small entry pass" in English. This pass is very important for the fishing boat to be able to dock at Indonesia anytime it needs to.


Right after receiving the "pas kecil", the crew will stay a little bit longer until the fisheries release their permit to operate in the deep waters that still belong to Indonesia. They call this document as "perikanan". This document processing normally takes around 3 weeks to be completed. That is why the fishing boat must get a good catch before docking at the Indonesian port for it to have enough cash to sustain the basic needs of its crew as well as the capital to be used for the trip back here in the Philippines.

Typing the tuna fishing permit. Photo Credits

Since Ramil was already able to build his network in fishing business both here in the Philippines and in Indondesia, we were able to secure these documents a little bit faster than usual. He called up his friend, Jojo, in Indonesia and asked him if we could send the money required for the document and permit processing ahead of the fishing boat via western union. Luckily, Jojo agreed with it and he processed the requirements ahead. By the time IJ fishing boat docked, it was given the entry pass right away and it only waited for a couple of weeks more for the permit from the fisheries.

When my friends and family knew that I have a small tuna fishing business for the first time, almost all of them asked me the same question and that is, "Is it legal?"... I guess I can't blame them for thinking that way. It is very common for us to think that a small business, especially a newly started one, is equivalent to an unlicensed business.

"Of course, our fishing business is legal...", that's what I answered them.

Actually, we can opt not to get these papers. We always have the option not to. Why wait for that long anyway? No one owns the fishes in the ocean right?

Indonesian Coast Guard Patrolling. Photo Credits

But, we are very aware that not doing so can put our investments into a higher risk and we don't want that. For Ramil and I, it's better to abide by the rules. We already heard a lot of stories of fishermen being put in prison by the marine patrol and coastguard because of illegal tuna fishing. When this happens, the owner of the fishing boat will need to pay the bail for the crew and its a huge amount of money that we are talking here. In addition to that, the fishing boat will also be held in custody by the coastguard and the owner will also need to bail it out.

We can't afford to go through all of these things and that's why we patiently waited for the documents to be completed.

If you were in our shoes, would you do the same?