RI urged to enforce sustainable fishing

The Indonesian government has been urged to promote a green and sustainable fishing mechanism in order to meet the requirements of importing countries.

Sustainable fishing methods are one of the requirements set by countries importing aquarium fish and other marine products. As a maritime country, Indonesia still lags behind neighboring Thailand and Singapore in exporting aquarium or ornamental fish.

Indonesia’s exports of aquarium fish to the US reached only US$5.29 million in 2009, compared with Thailand ($8.37 million) and Singapore ($8.47 million).

Indonesia also exports aquarium fish to China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and European countries, with total exports worth $10 million last year, including those shipped to the US.

Hasanuddin University’s Maritime and Fishery Department researcher Aspari Rahman told participants at the second Indonesian Ornamental Marine Symposium in Sanur on Tuesday that Indonesia does not posses a strong bargaining position in global aquarium fish markets because of the country’s inadequate stocks and low quality catch systems.

“In Bali, for instance, the majority of beaches were hit by serious sea abrasion, which influences the marine ecosystem,” Rahman said. A poor marine ecosystem would badly affect aquarium fish breeding grounds and production, he said, adding that sustainable and green fishing methods would certainly improve marine ecosystems and increase marine biota.

There are around 8,449 species of marine biota, “but Indonesia can only breed 2 percent of the total existing species,” Rahman said.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry expert Suseno Sukoyono said around 18 percent of world’s coral reefs are located in Indonesia, and coral reefs are perfect breeding sites for various species of aquarium fish.

“The country’s aquarium fish industry faces several challenges, including marine pollution, poor ecosystems, climate change and rapid development of projects along coastal areas,” Sukoyono said.

Developments and tourism in coastal areas would affect the marine ecosystem, which in turn affects the aquarium fish habitat,
he added.

Importers usually impose regulations banning illegal fishing or poaching of aquarium fish. “We expect all exporters to gain green fishing certificates to convince overseas buyers that their export items were not illegal and were caught using environmentally friendly fishing methods,” Sukoyono said.