Heaptalk, Jakarta — Indonesia’s fisheries have developed into a critical sector as the world’s largest archipelagic country with a manageable sea area of 5.8 million km2. Even so, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still well below the 12.5 percent that was expected. It only reached 3.7 percent of the GDP last year.
This projection is probably still a long way off, as it is set for 2045. However, given the total available market (TAM) in this sector, Indonesia’s fishery could have made numerous improvements. According to Statista, the fishing industry market is expected to reach the US $29.065 million in 2022, with a 5.15 percent annual growth rate (CAGR 2022–2026).
This year, Indonesia set a goal to make its fishing industry more sustainable by 2025. It has the chance to become one of the main generators of the country’s economy, too, since both capture fisheries and aquaculture fisheries have a lot of room for growth. Indonesia fishing also lies the world’s second-largest fish producer, with its tuna fisheries among the world’s largest and most yielding.
According to the ex-Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Prof. Dr. Ir. Rokhmin Dahuri, M.S., the potential fishing grounds in Indonesia are abundant. An annual production capacity of around 67 million tons is maintained. Also refer to the statistics: the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for marine capture fisheries is 9.3 million tons per year, whereas the MSY for inland capture fisheries (lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and swamps) is roughly 0.9 million tons per year.
Every year, 10.2 million tons of total captured fishing are captured. The rest of the year, 56.8 million tons, can be used for aquaculture, like marine aquaculture (mariculture), brackish aquaculture (ponds), and freshwater aquaculture (land).
However, this sector has received less serious attention thus far compared to the mainland industry. Indeed, suppose Indonesia’s maritime (economic) development potential is managed creatively and effectively. In that case, it has the potential to become one of the country’s primary sources of development capital, providing maximum benefits to the country and its people. This is also in line with President Joko Widodo’s government vision, which places a lot of emphasis on marine resources, such as the “Maritime Axis” and “Sea Road” projects.
Measured fishing becomes a new era in Indonesia Fishery
A fishing policy that is interesting to watch by 2022 is the implementation of measured fishing. It is presumed that this will bring the marine and fishing sectors into a new era with many positive impacts. Likewise, Minister Trenggono said during the Mandiri Investment Forum: Billion Dollar Opportunity in the Fishery Market (08/2) that this measured fishing policy will bring fisheries in the country into a new era that is more advanced, more prosperous, more just, and more sustainable.
According to the Minister, implementing a measured fishing policy will have numerous positive consequences, particularly for eastern Indonesia to balance ecology and economy. It is also expected to bring various positive effects, as he explained, ranging from the growth of new businesses, which impacted employment, to the more even distribution of economic growth along the coast, which was no longer concentrated on the island of Java.
Trenggono explained that the measured fishing policy shifted from an input-control to an output-control approach. The control was achieved through implementing a fishing quota and zoning system that ensured the private sector utilized fish resources to their carrying capacity. It aims to increase the foreign exchange from the global fisheries market worth $167 billion.
Meanwhile, the fishing zone will be divided into six zones, one of which will be designated as a spawning zone and nursery ground. According to him, eastern Indonesia’s enormous potential represents an opportunity for business actors and fishing groups to improve welfare. This catalyzes economic growth in the region, shifting the focus away from ‘Java centricity’ and toward Indonesia centricity.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) will implement a measured fishing policy in the Arafura Sea, between Papua New Guinea and Australia, beginning in March 2022.
“For 2022, Arafura will likely begin in March with the implementation of measured fishing,” said Mochamad Idnillah, Acting Director of Permits and Services at the KKP’s Directorate General of Capture Fisheries, during an online maritime discussion.
The measurable fishing program is a new policy developed by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to grow this sector’s economy.
Pay attention to the overfished
According to the Global Marine Commodities data, Indonesia has over 7 million tons of catch per year, making the country the second-largest fishing nation after China. The majority is for domestic consumption, with the 270 million-strong population eating more than three times the global average. However, there is a serious problem that must also be addressed, and that is the depleted capacity of fish resources in many areas.
This shows that many areas are in danger or have already been overfished, as almost all fish populations have been depleted. The majority of them are concentrated in one-third of Indonesia’s western waters. Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Indonesia’s marine affairs minister, says that 90 percent of the fish collected by its ships come from overfished and crowded locations.
Even though the waters of Indonesia have become home to 37% of the world’s marine species, it is important to note that many of them are in danger because of fishing. Shrimp, for example, has already been overfished in more than two-thirds of the waters of Indonesia, and are becoming rarer. As with the baby lobster, which is still being hunted. Quotas have already run out in other parts of the country, too.
As a result, some analysts believe that subsidies to the private sector, including Fisherman, contributed to the depletion. Lowering fuel prices and tax breaks, for example, have all contributed to a steady increase in catches over the last few decades. As a result, they are critical of them: harmful subsidies can lead to overfishing, biodiversity loss, and the destruction of marine areas. This occurs, for example, when fishing is conducted at levels that exceed sustainable levels, or when subsidies encourage harmful fishing practices. According to a study conducted by the University of British Columbia in Canada, more than 60% of global subsidies in the fishing industry are potentially harmful to the oceans.
