Tuna exports slumping 'due to illegal fishing'

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's tuna exports are likely to drop by at least 50 percent this year due to the rampant illegal fishing activities of foreign ships, Minister of Agriculture Soleh Solahuddin said on Monday.

Soleh said that many foreign ships, most of which were from Thailand, had operated illegally in Indonesian waters.

"The rampant illegal activities are partly due to our weak supervision and control," he said after opening a national agriculture meeting in Bogor, West Java.

"Because of the illegal fishing, Thailand has become the world's largest tuna exporter although tuna potential in its waters can only meet 10 percent of the demand from its tuna industry."

Soleh told Antara that many local fishing companies had sold their tuna catching permits to foreign ships to gain quick profits.

"Those local companies sell their permits because they lack modern equipment to catch tuna," he said.

He added that the lack of sophisticated equipment was the main obstacle hindering the country's tuna fishing industry because tuna were highly migratory.

According to data from the Directorate General of Fisheries, Indonesia catches about 178,000 tons of tuna annually, which is 3 percent of the country's total fishery products.

Indonesia's total export volume of tuna in 1997 was 103,774 metric tons worth US$1.04 billion. It was initially expected to reach 107,000 tons this year with a value of $1.08 billion.

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 Japan's imported tuna last year came from Indonesia. (gis)