Soen’an Hadi Poernomo, head of information at the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, informed that Indonesia’s aquaculture output is projected to increase 45 percent, to 7.4 million metric tons, in 2009, surpassing wild fisheries production. He also said that wild fisheries output is expected to increase just 2 percent, to 5.5 million metric tons, next year.
The Indonesian government is working hard to give a significant boost to the aquaculture industry in order to steer away from wild fisheries due to increasing fuel prices. Fuel accounts for about half of fishermen’s production costs. Yusuf Solichien, chairman of Indonesian Fishermen Association, expressed that Indonesia is fighting illegal fishing. He told that illegal fishing is costing the Indonesian fishing industry $2.7 billion to $3.6 billion annually. The government has formed a task force to tackle illegal fishing as most Thai fishing vessels enter Indonesian waters through the South China Sea to fish in the Arafura Sea.
Seafood products of Indonesia are in great demand in the United States, Japan, Europe and China. Strong export has strengthened the seafood industry and so the government has decided to give it a boost by supporting it in different ways.
