The First Meeting of the Indonesian Fisheries and Marine Higher Education Leadership Forum was held by Sriwijaya University, Palembang, Indonesia, on March 9, 2023. The event was attended by 100 participants from Fisheries and Marine Faculties representatives throughout Indonesia, Provincial Government, Research Institute for Inland Fisheries and Extension, as well as SEAFDEC/IFRDMD.
On that occasion, the Governor of South Sumatra, Mr. Herman Deru, welcomed the event held in Palembang, South Sumatra Province. Mr. Governor reported that South Sumatra Province, from the results of the Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey, stunted this province’s drop to 6.2%. South Sumatra entered the top three provinces, reducing stunting rates that exceeded national achievements. This achievement is due to fisheries and agricultural activities increasingly providing good results for this province. Mr. Governor stated that the Government welcomes the recommendations from this meeting to be implemented by the South Sumatra Government to maintain the sustainability of local fish in inland waters.
The Rector of Sriwijaya University, Prof. Dr. Anis Saggaff, then opened the event. Prof. Anis conveyed that Sriwijaya University has the largest artificial lake in Indonesia, which contains freshwater fish that have become difficult to find in natural inland waters, integrated with agricultural activities. The artificial lake can be used for students’ learning activities, science development, and freshwater fisheries research.
The event continued with a meeting that discussed various programs as the forum’s focus and a welcome dinner hosted by the South Sumatra Provincial Government at the official residence of the Governor of South Sumatra.
On the second day, the forum continued with the event of the restocking of local fish from South Sumatra Province at the Artificial Lake of Sriwijaya University. The Research Institute for Inland Fisheries and Extension as the partner of IFRDMD, prepared 2,500 seeds, which the invitees then restocked.
In this forum, IFRDMD shared semi-popular publications, such as “Fish for the People,” SEAFDEC Newsletter, and “SRIVIJAYA” with the participants.
