Fish exhibition attracts few visitors<\/p>\n
By Prapti Widinugraheni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago and home to
\nmore than 35 percent of the world's tropical fish species, has a
\nlong way to go before it can name itself the hub of the tropical
\naquarium-fish trade.<\/p>\n
The First World Ornamental Fish and Accessories Mart '96,
\nwhich was opened on Monday by Director General of Fisheries'
\nSecretary Untung Wahyono, goes to show that holding an
\nexhibition, gaining a solid reputation and attracting customers
\nis a long process that cannot be attained overnight.<\/p>\n
The First World Ornamental Fish and Accessories Mart '96,
\nnicknamed \"Aquamina 96\" by the exhibition's organizers, proves
\nthat, first and foremost, a strong commitment from everyone
\ninvolved in the aquarium-fishery business is the most important
\nelement in determining the future of Indonesia's aquarium-fish
\ntrade.<\/p>\n
The 12-day exhibition, which will end on Nov. 1, is currently
\nbeing held in the dim interior of SeaWorld Indonesia in Ancol,
\nNorth Jakarta -- which is a great disadvantage because most
\nvisitors head off to SeaWorld instead of to the exhibition.<\/p>\n
\"This is not where the exhibition was planned,\" Marketing
\nmanager of CV Maju Aquarium, Iwan Dermawan, told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
\"We (participants) were told by the organizing committee that
\nthe mart would be held in a separate building across from
\nSeaWorld, but it seems the building is still under construction.\"<\/p>\n
Maju Aquarium is one of the seven participants of this so-
\ncalled world event.<\/p>\n
Iwan, too, acknowledged that the situation was not quite as he
\nhad expected. For one, the participants, most of whom are large-
\nscale aquarium-fish exporters, had hoped to meet foreign buyers.<\/p>\n
Maju Aquarium is no exception. The company which trades exotic
\naquarium fish, runs a serious business, Iwan explained.<\/p>\n
\"Discus fish from the newest strain,\" he said, pointing to a
\nflat, reddish-orange fish about 15 centimeters in diameter, \"cost
\nabout Rp 4 million (US$1,739) each.\"<\/p>\n
Not all the fish sold by Maju Aquarium are as expensive,
\nthough. Older strains of the discus and other species cost
\nanywhere between several hundred rupiah and several thousand
\nrupiah each.<\/p>\n
What makes the difference?<\/p>\n
\"The discus is originally from South America, but we have bred
\nit here so some of the fish can be sold at cheaper prices,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
From the 212 freshwater fish sold by Maju Aquarium about 60
\nspecies are imported and bred, and then re-exported.<\/p>\n
Another participant, PT Isaku Arawane, sells the Indonesian-
\nnative arwana fish, also a freshwater species.<\/p>\n
According to the company's director, Harijanto, the fish is
\nworth between Rp 15 million and Rp 70 million, depending on size,
\ncolor and age.<\/p>\n
Clearly, these sellers are not aiming their products at the
\nhundreds of families and groups of school children that regularly
\npack SeaWorld.<\/p>\n
Iwan said the pitiful situation is mainly a result of the
\nreluctance of most national exporters to join in the exhibition.<\/p>\n
\"They don't believe Indonesia is capable of holding such an
\nexhibition,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian exporters, most of whom are members of the National
\nFederation of Aquarium Fish Exporters and the Indonesian
\nAssociation of Shellfish and Corals, are quite satisfied with
\njoining exhibitions held in Singapore, the mecca of the world
\ntropical fish trade, Iwan said.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, the exporters have nothing to lose if they don't
\nparticipate in Aquamina '96 because they have the capital and
\nconnections to continue reaping profits and to join exhibitions
\nelsewhere. The ones that are continually hurt by the trade -- but
\nmay not know it -- are the small-scale breeders,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fish breeders, who are concentrated around Greater Jakarta,
\nhave little knowledge that the fish they breed can be sold at
\nseveral thousand times the price they sell to the wealthy
\nexporters.<\/p>\n
Iwan then told of his experience during a visit to a Singapore
\naquarium-fish exhibition: a German gentleman at one of the stands
\nasked where he came from, after Iwan asked about a colorful-
\nlooking fish in one of the aquariums.<\/p>\n
\"When he knew I was from Indonesia, he closed the information
\nsection on that particular fish with his hands and asked me what
\nI knew about the fish. I said I didn't know anything,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"When he lifted his hands from the book, it was then that I
\nknew the fish came from the Memberamo river in Irian Jaya, and
\nwas exported to Germany, bred there and brought to that
\nexhibition. I wouldn't be surprised if, after the exhibition, the
\nfish ended up in an Indonesian aquarium,\" Iwan said.<\/p>\n
Iwan is optimistic that by holding exhibitions here, the mecca
\nof tropical fish can gradually shift to Indonesia, the source of
\n35 percent of the aquarium fish traded on the world market.<\/p>\n
Breeders can then hope to get better prices for their fish and
\nIndonesia can hope to see less of its native fish being fished
\nout of the country, bred elsewhere and re-imported from another
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"If we continue to feel reluctant about taking care of our own
\nresources, I am afraid that before long, Indonesian fish will not
\nbe the host in their own country,\" Iwan said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fish-exhibition-attracts-few-visitors-1447893297",
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