Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono is optimistic that the tuna commodity exported from Ambon, Maluku, will continue to grow and further improve the performance of the national marine and fisheries sector."Hopefully this will be continuous and the exports will get bigger from here. This means that if it gets bigger, the implications for the back are also big," said Sakti Wahyu Trenggono in a press release in Jakarta, Sunday.
Minister Trenggono has released exports of 53.6 tonnes of tuna worth more than 513 thousand US dollars from Pattimura Airport, Ambon, to Japan, America and Vietnam, February 6, 2021. He asked his staff at the Ambon Marine and Fishery Products Quarantine and Quality Control Agency (BKIPM) to ensure and guarantee that there were no more cases of rejection of Indonesian fishery products in the destination country. It is necessary to provide regular guidance to business actors from upstream to downstream.
This step, according to him, is also an effort to increase world market confidence in Indonesian fishery products. Maluku Governor Murad Ismail said fishery exports continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic. Total exports throughout 2020 reached 7,735 tons with a value of IDR 630.6 billion, an increase of 261 percent from the previous year. A number of countries that are loyal customers of Maluku fishery products include China, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, to Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Commodities that are in demand are vaname shrimp, tuna, live grouper, and mud crab. He admitted that this export growth was an encouragement to continue to increase the productivity of capture fisheries. Previously, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries stated that Indonesia's yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna had successfully met the global standard certification for sustainable fisheries by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The collaboration between the Indonesian government and MSC has made 11,000 tons of yellowfin and skipjack tuna certified for the American and European markets, "said Acting Director General of Capture Fisheries M. Zaini, in a press release in Jakarta, Friday (29/1). According to him, this achievement was achieved by Indonesia thanks to the efforts of KKP and the Indonesian Pole and Line and Handline Fisheries Association (AP2HI) supported by the International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) who have worked hard to ensure that tuna fisheries in Indonesia are managed sustainably.
Zaini explained that the certification obtained involved 380 fishing vessels spread across Indonesia, from North Sulawesi and North Maluku to the Banda Sea, and East and West Flores. This, he continued, is also an implementation of cooperation between the KKP and MSC which confirms the joint commitment to strengthen collaboration on sustainable fishing. "The existence of this certification shows our commitment to sustainable tuna fishing in Indonesia to the world. As one of the largest tuna producers in the world, it is vital for us to support the process of obtaining this certification through a fisheries improvement program so that all fisheries sectors can grow sustainably while providing guaranteed livelihoods in the future, "said Zaini. He explained that the certification determines fishing to remain at the level of global best practice with good stock management.
Source: https://www.antaranews.com/berita/1986016/menteri-kkp-optimistis-ekspor-tuna-dari-ambon-terus-tumbuh
