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ENPASAR: Bali will have to buy an additional 15,000 tons of fish annually from East Java and Sulawesi to meet the island’s high demand for the commodity, an official says.

Local markets need 106,000 tons of fish, while the island’s marine and fish industry only provides 91,000 tons per year, Bali Marine and Fishery Agency head I Gusti Putu Nuriartha said.

The fishing industry in Bali is divided into two sectors: aquaculture and wild-catch fishing. Fish farms usually supply local markets, including domestic households, restaurants and hotels.

Capture fishery, in particularly tuna, is aimed at export markets, Nuriartha said,

“We need to buy fish from other provinces to meet local demand,” he said. Key products include freshwater and salty fish, shrimp and lobster.

Nuriartha said Bali had large marine and fishery reserves. “We are only exploiting 30 percent of the total potential,” he said. — JP