"In the next five or 10 years, fishing must decrease, but (fish) farming must increase," the minister stated as quoted in Tual City, Maluku, Monday.
Trenggono underscored the need to continue to encourage cultivation. Fishers who can carry out traditional fishing are urged to develop new methods, so that their catches have good standards.
Furthermore, when fishers have good standards and quality of fish, the opportunity to export is more wide open.
"We must leave traditional (methods) behind because farming in the fishery sector is still very weak. In addition to still using traditional methods, we also do not have best practice standards," the minister remarked.
He drew attention to the need to bring about improvements in several aspects, including fish feed, before increasing fish farming in Indonesia.
According to the minister, 100 percent of the feed for fish in the country is still imported. To this end, it is hoped that Indonesia will be able to produce its own fish feed in future.
He affirmed that the Indonesian fishing industry has vast potential to be developed. Moreover, there is the concept of blue economy that is more sustainable.
"To this day, we still have a surplus of fish. Hopefully, in the future, this will be our strength," Trenggono stated.
The Indonesian government launched the Indonesia Blue Economy Roadmap on July 3, 2023. Under the roadmap, Indonesia is committed to increasing the maritime sector's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP), from 7.9 percent in 2022 to 15 percent in 2045.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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