Morotai island to be developed as fishing port

The Jakarta Post, Ternate, North Maluku

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is exploring the possibility of developing Morotai island, North Maluku province, into the largest fishing port in eastern Indonesia, North Maluku Governor Thaib Armayin said here on Wednesday.

"The ministry will work with an Australian company to develop an integrated fishing industry in the island, located at the Pacific Rim," Thaib said, adding that a number of domestic and foreign investors had expressed interest in investing in Morotai island. The Australian company, he said, has carried out a survey on the island.

North Maluku produces an output of 478,382.5 tons of fish per year.

In 1999, only 56,849.65 tons were exploited, head of the North Maluku maritime affairs and fisheries office Helmi Rais said. "This means that the opportunity is wide open for investment in the fisheries sector of North Maluku," he said.

Helmi said 77 percent of North Maluku's territory, covering 140,255 sq km, was sea.