Indonesia is developing tuna farming plans to enhance the national aquaculture sector. This objective also has a second purpose: to relieve some of the pressure on the world's largest marine tuna fisheries.
Figures point to Indonesia as the leading tuna-catching country. Indeed, it supplies approximately 16% of the world's total tuna catch. However, intensive fishing for wild tuna has also rendered it unsustainable, and at present, fishermen have fully exploited most of Indonesia's fishing grounds in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Different measures have been proposed over the years to alleviate the problems, but the current one of establishing tuna farms in the country's bays is a novelty.
"This can be a good thing if we can develop it in Indonesia," said Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, the Minister of Fisheries, in a press conference in Legian, Bali, that was captured by Mongabay. "No more massive catches of tuna, but one option is to catch them and then raise them for a certain period and give them a high financial value-added while meeting protein demands."
Moreover, Sakti explained that he discussed experts in fisheries in Turkey and tuna farming techniques in Australia. He stated that the potential sites include Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara province and Morotai in Moluccas province.
In addition, tuna in Indonesia is also a significant economic driver and a vital powerhouse in the food industry. By 2021, the country produced 791,000 metric tons of caught tuna, valued at Rp 22 trillion (EUR 1.4billion/USD 1.5 billion). The exports primarily targeted the U.S., Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the EU, and Australia.