Morotai island to be developed as fishing port

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.