Senior Indonesian officials cut the ribbon on their country’s new, larger pavilion on the morning of 26 April, one of the first formal events of the 2016 version of Seafood Expo Global, the world’s premier seafood industry exhibition.
Indonesia Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Nilanto Perbowo and Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Yuri Octavian Thamrin jointly announced a new commitment from their country’s leadership to grow the Indonesian seafood sector. In particular, they said the country will focus its efforts on cutting down on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, encourage investment in the industry and increase its exports to Europe.
“We definitely would like to increase our seafood exports to Europe to meet the demands of the European market,” Perbowo said.
Perwobo and Thamrin said Indonesian President Joko Widodo has made revamping and reshaping the seafood industry in his country a top priority since taking office in 2014. Indonesia “wishes to comply with European standards” for sustainability and will put greater emphasis on the prevention of IUU fishing in its waters, Perwobo said.
Hugo Verhoeven, the program manager of the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, which is commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was present for the opening of the pavilion and praised the progress he has seen in Indonesia.
“It’s a real change. If you observe the way the fishery was managed before, there was much less importance attached to sustainability. There was a lot of illegal fishing from other countries,” Verhoeven said. “They are now taking IUU very seriously. They have strengthened regulations, and it’s powerful that these orders seem to be coming from the highest level of government.”
In the long-term, Indonesia is ensuring its marine resources will remain available for future generations, Indonesian companies exhibiting at this year’s Seafood Expo Global may be in an awkward position. Verhoeven said the crackdown on illegal fishing had forced many of the country’s fishing vessels to tie up until retrofitted with new equipment that was compliant with the stricter rules.
“A lot of companies, even some here at the show, now face a materials shortage,” he said.
