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Declining catches worry fish processing industry
A business association warns that, without government involvement to solve the upstream problems, a lack of supply will hurt the overall marine and fisheries sector, which is crucial for employment and rural development in Indonesia.
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A woman removes boiled green mussels from their shells beside her daughter at a fishing port in Jakarta on March 19, 2024. (AFP/YASUYOSHI CHIBA )
D
eteriorating fish stocks and declining catches are hurting marine and fishery businesses across the country and thereby jeopardizing development in a sector that is crucial for employment and rural development.
The Association of Indonesian Fishery Product Processing and Marketing Entrepreneurs (AP5I) says the government must address the upstream problems as the situation is badly impacting the fish processing industry.
“This has been a problem for a long time, but the point is, the government must fix the upstream sector first, so that there is a lot of production. Unless that is fixed, how can exports increase?” AP5I chairman Budhi Wibowo told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He explained that the association’s members reported declining supplies of demersal fish and cultivated shrimp, while tuna and squid supply “appears to be stagnant.”
Indonesian fishery exports from January through November 2023 amounted to US$5.6 billion, down almost 10 percent from the $6.2 billion recorded over the same period in 2022, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry data show.
Budhi suggested that the authorities revise Government Regulation No. 85/2021 on the types and tariffs of nontax state revenue, adding that the association had discussed a possible revision of the rules with the fisheries ministry.
The ministry did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
