PT Daya Guna to use satellite for fishing

PT Daya Guna to use satellite for fishing

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed fishing company PT Daya Guna
Samudera is planning to use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's (NOAA) satellite to detect fish in eastern
Indonesian waters through an upwelling process.

"The use of the NOAA satellite will make sea fishing much more
efficient, economical and productive because ships could be
better directed to resources," Daya Guna Samudera president Anwar
Pulukadang said yesterday in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi.

Daya Guna Samudera would also use the ARGOS satellite system
to monitor fishing ships in the eastern waters and record their
catch, Pulukadang said after signing a cooperation agreement with
the Agency for the Research and Application of Technology.

Indroyono Susilo, an executive of the Jakarta-based agency,
said the agency would help Daya Guna Samudera use the NOAA
satellite to detect fish in eastern waters.

Susilo said a more accurate fish detection system would cut
Daya Guna Samudera's operating costs by directing its ships to
schools of fish.

"Daya Guna Samudera will be able to significantly improve the
management of its fishing fleet which is crucial for increasing
the competitiveness of its products," Susilo said.

Pulukadang said the ARGOS satellite system and NOAA satellite
would greatly help Daya Guna Samudera improve the operational
efficiency and productivity of its fishing fleet.

"We can closely monitor the locations of our fishing ships and
can easily move them around to targeted resources. We can also
keep ourselves posted of their catches," he added.

Daya Guna Samudera, which listed 100 million shares, or 23.67
percent of its common stocks, on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock
exchanges last October, operates in the Arafura Sea, Maluku Sea
and South China Sea.

The company can process fish at its base in Benjina, northern
Maluku. It produces frozen shrimp, frozen fish, fish filets and
fish meal mostly for export to Japan.

Daya Guna Samudera, which is licensed to operate 215 fishing
boats, has another fishing base in Tarempa near the South China
Sea. (vin)