Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world, with abundant natural resources, especially in the fisheries sector. Indonesia's fisheries are of global importance. The country's waters support over 3,000 species of bony fishes and more than 850 sharks, rays, and chimaeras. The fisheries industry employs about 12 million Indonesians.
Indonesia is included among the top 10 countries, with capture fisheries potential in the world. In addition, Indonesia is equipped with several fishery processing areas. Indonesia has one of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world and is the second largest fish producer in the world. And the country is also one of the top-10 fish-dependent nations in the world, with fish consumption reaching 46.49 kg per year per capita.
Indonesia also has vast market potential, both domestically and internationally, for marine capture fisheries and aquaculture, including the global tuna market. Based on data from Statistics International Trade Center and the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade), Indonesia's tuna export value in 2018 was ranked sixth in the world, after Thailand, Ecuador, Spain, China, and Taiwan.
Two out of three breakthrough programs of the ministry to boost development in marine and fisheries industry in Indonesia are centered in the fish farming sub-sector.
(Source: Antara News/Nature)