Jakarta, Oct 16 (Antara) - With two-third of its area as water,
Indonesia should focus on developing its fishery sector to become the
world's seventh biggest economy by 2030.
The development model in Indonesia, the world's largest island country,
is still terrestrially oriented, though it is actually the fishery
sector that can catapult the country into one of the world's largest
economies, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo
said.
"So far, the orientation of development in Indonesia has remained focused on land," Sutardjo stated.
The McKinsey Global Institute, in a report entitled "The Archipelago
Economy: Unleashing Indonesia's Potential," said that the fishery sector
was a main sector which could help boost Indonesia to become an
advanced economy by 2030.
"By that year, Indonesia's economy will emerge as the seventh biggest
in the world, outpacing even those of Germany and Britain," Minister
Sutardjo said.
The
Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister added that development in
Indonesia should now be focused on the sea because most of the land
based biodiversity has been depleted.
Indonesia still has a rich marine potential, which is yet to be tapped into.
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, a former marine affairs and fisheries minister,
said that Indonesia comprises 17,504 islands with a coastal line
stretching as long as 104,000 kilometers, and was a maritime nation in
the past.
"But now Indonesia has lost its iconic status as a maritime nation that
it once enjoyed during the era of the Majapahit and Sriwijaya
kingdoms," Kusumaatmadja, who is now an adviser at the marine affairs
and fisheries ministry, said.
Kusumaatmadja said people often misunderstood that Indonesia was a
maritime country because it had a vast water area. A maritime country
should also have an advanced marine industry, products and commerce.
Indonesia
has not yet reached that stage, including having an advanced and
reliable navy. Therefore, the country should focus its development on
the marine sector.
"The
marine potential could be exploited to the maximum to boost Indonesia's
economic growth and ensure the welfare of the people," Kusumaatmadja
said.
Minister Sutardjo pointed out that through the Juanda declaration of
1957, Indonesia was designated as an island country, with an exclusive
economic zone of about 200 miles from its coastal line.
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries had earlier claimed that
it has been applying research to develop technologies appropriate to the
requirements of fishermen across the various regions of the country.
"The
technology being developed by the marine affairs and fisheries ministry
has been tweaked, keeping in mind the needs of fishermen and the
coastal people in general," he stated.
Developing world maritime science was essential because Indonesia was
yet to utilize its great marine potential, Sutardjo stated, while
delivering a general lecture at a private university during an event
entitled, "Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran," recently.
He also reiterated that with 17,504 islands and a 104,000
kilometer-long coastline, serious efforts should be made to tap into the
country's considerable marine potential as much of the Indonesian
mainland's biological resources have already been depleted.
It was with this in mind that Indonesia should develop maritime science
for its younger generation. The minister further stated that the
development of maritime science could encourage the youth to find an
affinity with the area of sea development in Indonesia, which is an
island country.
On its part, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has remained
consistent in restructuring the pattern of maritime and fisheries
development by adopting the concept of sustainable development with an
emphasis on the Blue Economy model.
In
the meantime, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin)
has expressed the hope that marine development would focus on the
fishery sector to ensure the welfare of about nine million fishermen in
Indonesia.
Kadin noticed that an upward trend in Indonesia's marine and fishery
product exports has been noticed over the past three years.
Increase in export of fishery products results in prosperity for fishermen.
"I do not think it will be of any use if our turnover continued to
increase but did not add to the welfare of fishermen," Kadin Deputy
Chairman for Fisheries Affairs Yugi Prananto said.
Kadin data showed that Indonesia's fishery exports in 2010 stood at
US$2.86 billion. These increased to US$3.52 billion in 2011, and US$3.85
billion in 2012.
"With the upward trend in the fishery export, we hope it will also
improve the welfare of fishermen," said Yugi Prananto.
At another seminar on the national green base at the Bogor-based
Institute of Agriculture (IPB) over the weekend, Minister Sutardjo
revealed that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country's fishery
sector in 2012 increased by 6.48 percent or Rp57.69 trillion to Rp255.3
trillion.
"The
Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) showed that in 2012, Indonesia's
economic activities in the fishery sector were worth Rp255.3 trillion,"
Minister Sutardjo told the seminar.
He said that in the second quarter of this year (2013), the GDP growth
in the fishery sector was recorded at seven percent, compared to the
data for the corresponding period last year.
The growth is higher than the country's economic growth which was recorded at 5.81 percent.
In terms of economic size, the Rp57.69 trillion increase in the fishery
sector, excluding the growth in other marine activities, was a big
rise, according to the minister.
He said Indonesia had 2.96 million hectares of fresh water cultured
fishery potential, of which only 628,857 hectares or about 23.04 percent
had been fully exploited.
It also has 12.55 million hectares of sea cultured fish potential with a
utilization rate of only 0.94 percent or 117,649 hectares.
"The cultured fish potential still does not include the 541,100
hectares of fish ponds, 158,128 hectares of public water cultured fish
potential and 1.54 million hectares of mina-padi (fish-rice farm
cultivation) programs," the minister stated.
With regard to catch fisheries, the minister said Indonesia has a
potential for 6.5 million tons of fish per annum whereas in 2011, only
about 5.71 million tons or 77.38 percent had been realized.
He said that Indonesia's water areas cover 5.8 million square
kilometers, consisting of territorial waters, exclusive economic zones
and continental shelves.
These areas are abundant in natural resources, both renewable resources
such as fish, coral reefs and mangroves, as well as non-renewable ones
like natural oil, gas, minerals and other mining resources.***3***
(T.A014/INE/H-YH)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 16-10-20 |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar