Low price, high demand: People scramble to get the first chance to buy fresh seafood during a bazaar at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry in Jakarta on Friday. The bazaar was held to promote fish consumption, which now only stands at 31 kilograms per person per year, lower than Malaysia (70 kg) and Singapore (80 kg).(JP/Seto Wardhana)Java Island is home to the largest population of fishermen in Indonesia, with East Java, Central Java and West Java having the largest number of fishermen compared to other provinces.

In 2013, out of 2.17 million fishermen in Indonesia, 334,000 were in East Java, 203,000 in Central Java and 183,000 in West Java, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Yet, historically fish consumption on Java has been the lowest in the archipelago, as shown by the latest data from the National Social Economic Survey.

From 2012 to ...