Shoreline remains untapped resource

Shoreline remains untapped resource

BOGOR, West Java: The director of the center for coastal and
sea resources, Rokhmin Dahuri, said Indonesia's shoreline
potential remained an untapped resource which could greatly help
the country in this time of crisis.

"Ventures in this field are labor intensive, produce
sustenance, require minimal imported capital and are
theoretically and environmentally sustainable," he said during
the opening of the first national conference on coastal sea
resources here yesterday.

He said Indonesia's 81,000 kilometers of coastline was
underutilized.

He said other countries with far more limited resources were
more productive. He pointed out that Thailand, with a coastline
of just 2,600 kilometers, received about as much as Indonesia in
dollar value.

Rokhmin added that countries like France and Norway, even with
limited coastlines, earned over US$2 billion from oyster and
salmon exports. (24)