Indonesian fishermen arrange baskets of tuna for export. (Photo: ANTARA) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s government is promoting quota-based tuna fishing.
Conserving tuna habitats is also being highlighted to fulfill requirements to sell tuna on the international market.
Director of Fish Resources Management Toni Ruchimat said Indonesia set an annual catch quota of 750 tonnes for bluefin tuna and 5,889 tonnes for bigeye tuna.
However, the catch volume often fell short of expectations, he added.
He noted that the bluefin is the most expensive due to its high quality.
Apart from Indonesia, other countries and territories with permission to catch bluefin tuna are New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China), South Africa, and the European Union. Each has a different quota based on its fishing history.
Quotas are among several market requirements for tuna exports, which include the specification of origin, fishing method, fishing area, and names of the fishing boat and company.
Indonesia was among the largest tuna-producing countries in the world, accounting for about 16 percent of the global production over the last decade. The country recorded an annual average of 1.15 million tonnes of tuna in the last decade, while the figure for the global production was between 6.6 and 6.8 million tonnes.
Of the total catch, Indonesia consumed up to 400,000 tonnes domestically and exported the rest to Japan, the US and Europe.-VNA
