Indonesia and Australia to assess tuna fishing

Indonesia and Australia to assess tuna fishing

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Indonesia and Australia agreed on Wednesday on a joint project that would improve the management of Indonesia's tuna fisheries with a view to more sustainable fishing of Indian Ocean tuna.

Signing the agreement were Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Rokhmin Dahuri, and the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Richard Smith, a press release from the Australian Embassy said.

It said scientists and administrators from Indonesia and Australia would assess Indonesia's tuna fisheries.

"Without accurate information on the total catch it is difficult to develop effective strategies," the statement said.

The project would monitor catches in Benoa, Bali, and Muara Baru and Cilacap, Central Java.

Scientists and officials from Indonesia and Australia, it said, would monitor long-line fleets based in these ports and develop a system for the collection, storage and analysis of all catch data.

Scientists from Indonesia's Research Center for Capture Fisheries and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in cooperation with the CSIRO's Division of Marine Research from Australia would carry out the project.

The project would also help Indonesia meet its obligations under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. Funding the project is the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

"This project represents another aspect of the substantial cooperation between Indonesia and Australia over the past 20 years to improve the management of fisheries resources," Ambassador Smith said in the statement.