RI only able to tap 40% of tuna resources

RI only able to tap 40% of tuna resources

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia was only able to tap 40 percent of its
tuna resources due to the lack of modern fishing equipment,
Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah said yesterday.

Sjarifudin said after inaugurating the Indonesian Tuna
Association that there were plenty of opportunities for
Indonesian fishing companies to exploit the country's supply of
tuna.

"We should become a main player in the tuna fishing industry
because Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago country and
we are very close to the Indian Ocean, which is (teaming) with
tuna," he said.

He said the lack of sophisticated equipment was the main
obstacle for the tuna fishing industry, because tuna were highly
migratory.

"This problem has to be solved by businesses in cooperation
with the government. The government has helped simplify some
regulations, and I hope the association will help its members in
the transfer of technology," he said, adding that fishing
companies should also familiar themselves with international
regulations related to tuna catches.

Sjarifudin said there were many international laws and
standards to ensure that tuna fishing would not harm the ocean's
ecosystem.

According to data from the Directorate General of Fisheries,
Indonesia produces about 178,000 tons of tuna annually, or 3
percent of the country's total fishery products, with growth of
about 13 percent.

Indonesia's total export volume of tuna in 1996 increased by
11 percent to 100,070 tons, from 90,140 tons in 1995. Its export
value was US$252 million in 1996, a 13 percent increase from $217
million in 1995.

The country exports most of its fresh and frozen tuna to the
United States, Japan and Singapore, while its canned tuna is
exported to the United States, France, the United Kingdom and
Germany.

Forty percent of imported filleted tuna in Japan came from
Indonesia last year.

The Indonesian Tuna Association was established by three
tuna-related associations, namely the Association of Indonesian
Tuna Businesses, the Association of Indonesian Tuna Fishery
Entrepreneurs and the Association of Balinese Tuna Entrepreneurs.

Sjarifudin said he hoped the association could serve as a
communications link between the government and tuna industries in
dealing with all matters related to tuna. (08)