Fish exhibition attracts few visitors
By Prapti Widinugraheni
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago and home to more than 35 percent of the world's tropical fish species, has a long way to go before it can name itself the hub of the tropical aquarium-fish trade.
The First World Ornamental Fish and Accessories Mart '96, which was opened on Monday by Director General of Fisheries' Secretary Untung Wahyono, goes to show that holding an exhibition, gaining a solid reputation and attracting customers is a long process that cannot be attained overnight.
The First World Ornamental Fish and Accessories Mart '96, nicknamed "Aquamina 96" by the exhibition's organizers, proves that, first and foremost, a strong commitment from everyone involved in the aquarium-fishery business is the most important element in determining the future of Indonesia's aquarium-fish trade.
The 12-day exhibition, which will end on Nov. 1, is currently being held in the dim interior of SeaWorld Indonesia in Ancol, North Jakarta -- which is a great disadvantage because most visitors head off to SeaWorld instead of to the exhibition.
"This is not where the exhibition was planned," Marketing manager of CV Maju Aquarium, Iwan Dermawan, told The Jakarta Post.
"We (participants) were told by the organizing committee that the mart would be held in a separate building across from SeaWorld, but it seems the building is still under construction."
Maju Aquarium is one of the seven participants of this so- called world event.
Iwan, too, acknowledged that the situation was not quite as he had expected. For one, the participants, most of whom are large- scale aquarium-fish exporters, had hoped to meet foreign buyers.
Maju Aquarium is no exception. The company which trades exotic aquarium fish, runs a serious business, Iwan explained.
"Discus fish from the newest strain," he said, pointing to a flat, reddish-orange fish about 15 centimeters in diameter, "cost about Rp 4 million (US$1,739) each."
Not all the fish sold by Maju Aquarium are as expensive, though. Older strains of the discus and other species cost anywhere between several hundred rupiah and several thousand rupiah each.
What makes the difference?
"The discus is originally from South America, but we have bred it here so some of the fish can be sold at cheaper prices," he said.
From the 212 freshwater fish sold by Maju Aquarium about 60 species are imported and bred, and then re-exported.
Another participant, PT Isaku Arawane, sells the Indonesian- native arwana fish, also a freshwater species.
According to the company's director, Harijanto, the fish is worth between Rp 15 million and Rp 70 million, depending on size, color and age.
Clearly, these sellers are not aiming their products at the hundreds of families and groups of school children that regularly pack SeaWorld.
Iwan said the pitiful situation is mainly a result of the reluctance of most national exporters to join in the exhibition.
"They don't believe Indonesia is capable of holding such an exhibition," he said.
Indonesian exporters, most of whom are members of the National Federation of Aquarium Fish Exporters and the Indonesian Association of Shellfish and Corals, are quite satisfied with joining exhibitions held in Singapore, the mecca of the world tropical fish trade, Iwan said.
"Of course, the exporters have nothing to lose if they don't participate in Aquamina '96 because they have the capital and connections to continue reaping profits and to join exhibitions elsewhere. The ones that are continually hurt by the trade -- but may not know it -- are the small-scale breeders," he said.
Fish breeders, who are concentrated around Greater Jakarta, have little knowledge that the fish they breed can be sold at several thousand times the price they sell to the wealthy exporters.
Iwan then told of his experience during a visit to a Singapore aquarium-fish exhibition: a German gentleman at one of the stands asked where he came from, after Iwan asked about a colorful- looking fish in one of the aquariums.
"When he knew I was from Indonesia, he closed the information section on that particular fish with his hands and asked me what I knew about the fish. I said I didn't know anything," he said.
"When he lifted his hands from the book, it was then that I knew the fish came from the Memberamo river in Irian Jaya, and was exported to Germany, bred there and brought to that exhibition. I wouldn't be surprised if, after the exhibition, the fish ended up in an Indonesian aquarium," Iwan said.
Iwan is optimistic that by holding exhibitions here, the mecca of tropical fish can gradually shift to Indonesia, the source of 35 percent of the aquarium fish traded on the world market.
Breeders can then hope to get better prices for their fish and Indonesia can hope to see less of its native fish being fished out of the country, bred elsewhere and re-imported from another country.
"If we continue to feel reluctant about taking care of our own resources, I am afraid that before long, Indonesian fish will not be the host in their own country," Iwan said.