Fish exhibition attracts few visitors

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.