Indonesia plans to establish independent coast guard soon

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/25/2010 5:44 PM

Former coordinating minister for the economy Dorojatun Kuntjoro Jakti said Friday that Indonesian needs a coast guard independent of the military to ensure that its current military resources are used for defense.

"The Navy’s war ships should be used for defense activities, not to capture fishermen," said Dorojatun said after a discussion at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry in Jakarta.

He continued that currently, Indonesia was still using naval war ships to safeguard its waters, including catching foreign or domestic fishermen operating without permits.

"In the United States, the coast guard is separate from the armed forces," he added.

The Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Fadel Muhammad, said that the government was planning to establish an independent coast guard in the near future.

"We have held two meetings to discuss the possibility of establishing the body, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has appointed the coordinating political, law and security affairs minister to lead the execution of the plan," he told reporters after the discussion. (rdf)

RI-US group to explore undersea volcanoes

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 06/24/2010 10:24 AM

Indonesian and US scientists have began joint deep-sea explorations in the Sangihe-Talaud Islands of North Sulawesi today to study submarine volcanoes and their surrounding environments.

An Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry official and coordinator of the Indonesian scientists, Sugiarta Wirasantosa, on Wednesday said the explorations were necessary because Indonesian waters largely remained a mystery to scientists.

Deep sea studies had been conducted on between 10 and 15 percent of Indonesia’s waters, he said, which covered an area more than twice the size its land territories, and these studies were limited to several areas.

“This time we are going to explore the deep sea up to 5,000 meters below sea level and learn about predominantly submarine volcanoes, their environment and biota,” Sugiarta told The Jakarta Post.

“We still have sketchy idea about what goes on under the sea, for example volcanic activity, earthquakes and creatures living there. There are so many aspects to learn about,” he said.

The explorations, which will take a month, involve around 32 Indonesian scientists and 12 US scientists from different fields, including biology, chemistry, ocean geology, volcanology, oceanography, geodesy and fishery.

The Indonesian scientists come from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in Jakarta, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in Jakarta, the Marine Geology Research and Development Center in West Java’s Bandung, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and Sam Ratulangi University in North Sulawesi.

Sugiarta said the group would be using two vessels — the Okeanos Explorer of the US and the Baruna Jaya IV of Indonesia.

“Baruna Jaya will take the samples we need for research,” said Sugiarta.

“All samples collected will be reviewed here in Indonesia.”

Indonesia would benefit from not only technology, but also the latest developments in science from the Indonesia-US cooperation, Sugiarta said.

From Washington, Craig McLean, the official responsible for the execution of ocean exploration at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press that the explorations would allow scientists to better understand the formation and process of tsunamis through a high-resolution map of the ocean floor.

Timor Sea oil spill forcing NTT fishermen to migrate

Antara News, Thursday, June 24, 2010 03:33 WIB

Kupang (ANTARA News) - Thousands of fishermen in Kupang`s Oesapa area are preparing to migrate to Bangka Belitung in Sumatra to find a new livelihood, a fishermen spokeman said.

They will migrate because their fish catches from the Timor Sea have declined drastically since the waters were polluted by an oil spill originating in Australian territory.

"Since the Timor Sea was polluted by an oil spill from a blowout in the Montara oil field on August 21, 2009, local fishermen`s fish catches have dwindled drastically. Now they are thinking of migrating to Bangka Belitung to build a new life," H Mustafa, chairman of the East Nusatenggara (NTT)`s Timor Sea Traditional Fishermen`s Alliance (Antralamor), told the press here Wednesday.

Some 3,500 fishermen grouped in Antralamor whose livelihoods had traditionally depended on fish from the Timor Sea had been affected by the oil spill following an explosion at an oil rig of PTTEP Australasia in the Montara oil field in the West Atlas Block in the Timor Sea, he said.

The fishermen had also pulled back most of the fish traps they had set in the sea along the Kupang coast because the contraptions no longer yielded the usual quantities of fish.

Meanwhile, an edible fat and oil biochemist at Nusa Cendana University (Undana), Dr Felix Rebhung, said the apparent pollution of the Timor Sea had forced deep sea fish in the waters to migrate to other waters.

"Deep-sea fishes are very sensitive to the conditions of their environment. If their environment or habitat is damaged or polluted, they will leave, and try to find a more friendly environment," he said."So, the fishermen`s complaint about minimal fish catches is quite logical," he added.

Rebhung who teaches at Undana`s faculty of agriculture said if a sea was contaminated by oil, oil condensate or lead, it would take many years for its ecology to return to normal.

Ferdi Tanoni, a local observer of Timor Sea affairs, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should address the Timor Sea pollution problem with the same care and firmness as US President Barack Obama had shown toward the Gulf of Mexico oil spill from a British Petroleum (BP) rig.

"If Barack Obama demanded 20 billion US dollars in damages from BP, the operator of the Monatara oil field should pay about 15 billion US dollars to compensate the losses of fishermen in the western part of East Nusatenggara and the islands of Rote, Sabu and Sumba," he said.

Tanoni also urged the Australian government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to disclose as soon as possible the results of its investigation into the Montara oil spill disaster.

The oil spill had caused thousands of fishermen and seeweed breeders in the western part of NTT to lose their source of living, making it "a humanitarian tragedy of huge proportions," Tanoni said.

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Indonesia has potential as biggest fish exporter

Antara News, Wednesday, June 23, 2010 02:09 WIB

Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA News) - Consultant of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Erik Hempel said Indonesia may be the world`s biggest fish exporting country.

"We know that Indonesia has big fish resources and therefore may have the potential to become the most fish exporter," Erik Hempel told a national workshop in Banda Aceh Tuesday.

Erik Hembel said the impost important key to become an exporter is the need to develop information and international trade regulations.

The per capita fish consumption in the world had been increasing and predicted that in 2010 the world fish production will reach 150 tons, so that the chance to become the biggest fish exporting country may be realized.

But several considerations need to be noted namely that fish need always to be fresh.

The fish imports and exports of the developing and developed countries are in a good balance.

It has been estimated that the biggest fish exporting country in 2007 is China with 11 percent, followed by Norway seven percent, and Thailand six percent, while Indonesia with only two percent in 2007, ranking only the 12th in the world`s fish exports.

In the meantime, the biggest fish importing country in the same year are the developed countries with 79 percent, the European Union with 43 percent, and the developing countries only 21 percent.

US, Indonesia Explore Uncharted Deep Sea

Jakarta Globe, Foster Klug, June 22, 2010

Scientists aboard the United States research vessel Okeanos Explorer, pictured, and their Indonesian counterparts on Thursday begin the first joint deep-sea exploration by both nations.

Washington. A deep-sea expedition by the United States and Indonesia sets off this week to explore one of the world's last frontiers, an adventure that researchers hope could lead to cures for diseases and help in predicting deadly tsunamis.

Scientists portray the trip to Indonesian waters as a throwback to a time when explorers blazed new trails into unknown territory.The expedition, which is set to begin Thursday and wrap up in early August, is the maiden voyage for a high-tech US science ship and the first joint deep-sea exploration by Indonesia and the United States.

Scientists will use a powerful sonar mapping system and a robotic vehicle equipped with high-definition video cameras to explore hundreds of square miles north of the Indonesian archipelago, providing an extraordinary glimpse of one of the globe's most diverse, complex and little-known marine ecosystems.

"The world's oceans are great mysteries to us, but there are few greater mysteries than this area in Indonesia that we're going to be exploring," Craig McLean, who oversees oceanic exploration for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in an interview.

Indeed, while a dozen men have been to the moon and back, only two have explored the deepest ocean and returned to tell the tale. This voyage won't be adding to that list; an unmanned, remote-controlled vessel will be exploring the deep sea.

Probing the ocean's depths is a potentially dangerous affair, with only a small number of countries and research centers investing in the effort. NOAA takes part in several international missions a year, but officials describe this one as its most complex.

A major goal is to create a high-resolution map of the ocean floor that will help scientists better understand how tsunamis form and make more accurate models to forecast the earthquake-spawned waves in the future. The region straddles a series of fault lines, making it very seismically active. In 2004, an earthquake off western Indonesia triggered tsunamis that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Indonesia's Minister for Marine Affairs and Fisheries Fadel Muhammad said scientists also want to explore ecosystems living around underwater volcanoes, some of which remain active.

Oceans cover about 70 percent of the earth's surface, but little is known about the sea floor. And not just remote parts of the Pacific; US officials say they've only mapped a small part of the exclusive economic zone that extends into waters off the American shore.

"There actually is a reasonable degree of artistic fiction included in most world maps that portray the ocean," McLean said. "Our job, among many, is to fill in those blanks."

The exploration might even point the way to cures for human diseases. Though the mission is not primarily designed to snap up thousands of samples of plants and sea animals, Indonesian scientists will collect specimens that could have medicinal qualities, such as attacking harmful bacteria or fighting the spread of cancer cells. An example of such a compound is discodermolide, a potential cancer drug extracted from a deep-water sponge.

Scientists from both countries say this venture is mostly about exploration, meaning they will allow their curiosity to guide them.The United States will send scientists and a converted US Navy ship, the Okeanos Explorer, to Indonesian waters. Indonesia's contribution is a research vessel, the Baruna Jaya IV, which will collect specimens that, together with all rights for future use, will remain in the country. The United States hopes to join in collections at a future date.

The Okeanos comes equipped with a multi-beam sonar mapping system that can generate high-resolution, wide-angle images in very deep water.It also has a remote-controlled robotic vehicle, about as big as a small sports utility vehicle, that's attached to the ship by a cable and capable of operating at depths more than twice the mile-deep oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has chemical sensors, movable arms, high-definition video cameras and a strong lighting system. Images will be transmitted to the ship by fiber-optic cables, beamed to a satellite and then sent to scientists on shore.

John McDonough, deputy director of the NOAA office of ocean exploration and research, said these scientists can contribute to the expedition by asking the pilot on the ship steering the robotic vehicle to pursue whatever strikes their fancy.

"The real objective here is to find something of interest that the science communities will want to come back to," McDonough said. "It's really establishing a sense of place." 

Associated Press

Egypt oil spill threatens Red Sea marine life

Yahoo/AFP, Sun Jun 20, 10:39 am ET

AFP/File - A sea turtle swims with scuba divers in the
Ras Mohammed protection area near Sham el-Sheikh Egypt

CAIRO (AFP) – An oil spill off the Egyptian Red Sea coast of Hurghada threatening to damage marine life in the area has promptedenvironmental agencies to demand tighter regulation of offshore oil platforms.

Large quantities of oil have appeared in recent days around the resorts of Hurghada which draw millions of tourists who come to dive or snorkle, according to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency.

"It started four or five days ago and the companies responsible didn't notify anyone. It is catastrophic," HEPCA Managing Director Amr Ali told AFP.

The spill was caused by leakage from an offshore oil platform north of Hurghada and has polluted protected areas and showed up on tourist beach resorts.

"The companies have said they will pay damages, but it is the environmental damage that we are concerned about," Ali said, declining to name the companies for legal reasons.

"We will take all measures, including legal, to make sure this does not happen again," he said.

HEPCA's warning comes amid ongoing efforts to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which has already damaged fragile ecosystems along the US south coast and halted the region's multi-billion-dollar fishing industry.

HEPCA, a non-governmental organisation based in Hurghada, has been working for the protection of natural resources in the Red Sea.

Egypt's environment and tourism ministries said the oil spill was contained and that measures were being taken to "deal with the pollution caused by the spill," the official MENA news agency reported.

Authorities protective of the lucrative tourism industry were eager to resolve the matter quickly. Both the Environment Minister Maged George and Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy visited the area of the spill on Saturday.

But HEPCA says it was too little too late.

"Visits won't help. We would like to see a clearer plan of action on the ground," Ali said.

"We would also like to see more stringent standards imposed on these offshore platforms to ensure naturalareas are protected," he said.

Residents have been told to stay away from contaminated beaches

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Probo Koala trial gets under way in Amsterdam

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 1 June 2010 - 11:22am

(Photo: Toms Kalnins/ANP)

The environmental disaster surrounding the dumping of toxic waste from chartered ship Probo Koala in 2006 returns to the spotlight today as a number of defendants go on trial in Amsterdam. The defendants include oil company Trafigura, Amsterdam Port Services, the captain of the Probo Koala and Amsterdam's Municipal Executive. They face a number of charges including violations of environmental legislation.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, the Probo Koala, a ship chartered by Trafigura, attempted to offload hazardous waste in Amsterdam. When this did not prove possible, the ship set sail for Ivory Coast, where a local company dumped the waste in various locations in and around Abidjan. At least 16 deaths and tens of thousands of medical complaints have since been linked to the dumping.

The Amsterdam trial will not focus on the events in Ivory Coast, but will examine how the defendants acted while the waste was being handled in the Netherlands. The high profile case is expected to last five weeks.

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Eight Cilacap fishermen missing in Indian Ocean

Antara News, Monday, June 21, 2010 15:39 WIB

Cilacap, C Java (ANTARA News) - Eight fishermen from Cilacap, Central Java, have remained missing after their boats capsized in the Indian Oceen at 2 on Friday morning.

"The fishermen were catching fish from two motor boats - the Bali Indah-15 and Putra Jaya-1 - when they were engulfed by big waves," spokesman of the Tanjung Intan Port administration;s sea and ciasr guard unit, Aher Priyatno, said here on Monday.

He said the two ill-fated boats capsized in waters near Cemiring Tengah at the coordinates of 9.40 degrees southern latitude and 109.16 degrees eastern longitude.

After the accident, 5 members of the Bali Indah-15 crew were rescued but five others could not be found.

Of the Putra Jaya-1 crew 8 members were rescued and three others went missing.

"We still don`t know the identities of the eight missing fishermen but rescue teams continue to search for them," Aher Priyatno said.

On a separate occasion, local National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) coordinator Waluyo said his party found it difficult to search for the victims because the location where the accident occurred was far away or about 72 miles from the Cilacap coastline.

Basarnas is an independent agency with national responsibility for conducting search and rescue operations where needed throughout Indonesia.

BP agrees to $20 billion fund for spill costs

CNN Money, by Ben Rooney, staff reporterJune 16, 2010: 3:46 PM ET

President Obama meeting with BP executives Wednesday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- BP has agreed to put $20 billion into an independently managed account to cover economic damages related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama said Wednesday.

Obama announced the agreement after meeting with BP executives at the White House. Chief executive Tony Hayward and chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, were among the execs there to discuss the spill, which has become the worst environmental disaster in US history.

But the fund will not limit the amount BP is responsible to pay, and it will not block states or individuals from pursuing claims in court, the president said.

Kenneth Feinberg, an attorney who served as Special Master of the 9/11 victims compensation fund, will oversee the fund, which will not be controlled by the government or BP.

Obama said he is "absolutely confident" that BP will be able to meet its obligations and that the agreement "sets up a legal and financial frame work for them to do it."

The fund, he said, "will provide substantial assurance that the claims people and businesses have will be honored."

BP (BP) has said repeatedly that it plans to pay all costs related to the spill. But the company has been criticized for not moving fast enough to process claims of economic damage filed by Gulf businesses impacted by the disaster.

Vast: A ship deploying an oil float shows the scale of the disaster as the spillage spreads for miles around

Carl-Henric Svanberg, the chairman of BP, said after the meeting that the company will not make any dividend payments for the remainder of the year.

BP had been under intense political pressure to suspend its dividend, which totaled $10.5 billion last year, before the costs of the spill were known.

In addition, BP agreed to set aside $100 million to compensate oil workers idled by the government-imposed moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Svanberg reiterated that the company will "live up to all our legitimate responsibilities," adding that the deal "should assure the American people that we mean what we say."

He also took the opportunity to apologize on behalf of the company and its employees.

Obama said the liabilities BP faces are "significant." But he called the company "strong" and "viable," adding that nation has an interest in keeping it above water.

While the new framework is an important step in repairing the economic and environmental damage in the Gulf, Obama acknowledged that "we're not going to turn things around overnight."

Under the terms of the agreement, BP will make installments of $5 billion a year for four years, including $5 billion in 2010, according to a White House fact sheet. BP will provide "assurance" for these commitments by setting aside $20 billion in U.S. assets.

As of March, BP had about $7 billion in cash on hand, according to its quarterly financial statement. The company generates over $7 billion in cash each quarter, or about $30 billion per year.

In addition, analysts estimate that BP could comfortably borrow up to $17 billion on relatively short notice.

BP said last week that it has so far spent over $1 billion on containment, clean up and other costs related to the spill.

Analysts say it's too soon to say how much the spill could end up costing BP, but estimates have ranged between $11 billion and $60 billion on the low end, to upwards of $100 billion in the worst case.

Much depends on the amount of oil flowing from the well and whether BP is found guilty of gross negligence.

Reports from congressional committees and in the press have indicated BP chose cheaper, riskier drilling tactics in the lead-up to the disaster.

BP CEO Tony Hayward criticised for yacht trip (BBC)

Meanwhile, government scientists on Tuesday increased their estimate of oil flowing into the Gulf by 50% to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day. That translates into 1.5 million gallons to 2.5 million gallons per day.

Wednesday was the 58th day that oil has been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Documents released by a Senate committee Wednesday show that BP has already given some money to the government for spill-related costs.

BP transferred about $71 million in two separate transactions last week to the Coast Guard for clean up costs, according to the documents.

-- CNN's John King, Suzanne Malveaux and Evan Glass contributed to this report.

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Catfish getting national `recognition`

Antara News, By Andi Abdussalam, Saturday, June 19, 2010 23:06 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - At least two tons of catfish were unloaded at the east parking lot of the Jakarta Senayan Sports Stadium this weekend, not to feed football match spectators but to get `recognition` as one of the country`s food resilience commodities.

Catfish, locally called `lele` is a very popular dish served in various food stalls beginning from roadside food tents to luxury restaurants.

Affordable by the lower segment of society, the most popular type of this fish dish is "pecel lele," or fried lele served with chilli sauce and vegetables.

As if coming out of the blue, people flocked to the Senayan parking lot on Saturday where different kinds of lele were displayed or served like boiled and fried lele shredded meat and pecel lele.

People came to the parking lot as it was the venue of a "Grand Catfish Festival 2010". No less than First Lady Ani Yudhoyono also attended the festivity.

When she inaugurated the event, she declared catfish as one of the country`s food resilience commodities, calling on people to eat the protein-rich fish and encourage the cultivation of the fresh water fish.

"I have one grandchild and I want to teach her to eat lele when she has reached the age of five years," she said.

At the inauguration of the "Grand Catfish Festival 2010," the First Lady said the food resilience program should not be measured from carbohydrate content only but also from the availability of protein content, and catfish was rich in protein.

Catfish, according to Ani Yudhoyono, not only contained 17 percent protein but was also low in cholesterol, had a delicious flavor. "Catfish prices are low making it affordable by common people. Lele or catfish is one of the country`s food resilience commodities," Ani said.

To enliven the catfish festival, a total of 37 stalls of `pecel lele joined forces to sell one ton of "pecel lele" worth Rp6.000 per package. Some 600 kilogram (kg) of live catfish was put up for sale directly to the public at the price of Rp7.000 per kg.

"About 400 kg of catfish will be used for cooking demonstrations that will be followed by 150 participants from the Greater Jakarta area," Soen`an Hadi Purnomo of the Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (KKP) said.

In order to meet the need for catfish at the festival, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries had supplied two tons of catfish to be sold to the public at a low price.

Soen`an Hadi Purnomo, who is head of Data Center for Statistics and Information (Pusdatin) of KKP, said the two tons of catfish were donated by the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

"Some of the catfish will be sold live, some after being cooked, and some parts for the purposes of cooking demos," he said.

According to First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, catfish-related exhibitions will also feature the festival which is held from June 19 to 20 at the Parking Lot of the Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Senayan.

The public could get various kinds of information ranging from technical catfish cultivation, feed, until processed catfish.

Another interesting thing was the holding of special business meeting to bring together catfish farmers and entrepreneurs.

Some stakeholders such as PT Alang-alang from Boyolali, abon (boiled and fried shredded meat) catfish producers, "Cat Fish Club", Lele Lela, Department of Marine Fisheries in Yogyakarta and Central Java, to the catfish feed companies took part in the festival.

Ani said cultivating catfish ponds did not require extensive land. After all, catfish has strong resistance against moody water making its cultivation much easier and offering opportunities that could improve the people`s welfare.

For the purpose, Ani urged the Civil Servant Wives Organization (PKK) in the regions throughout the country to encourage backyard cultivation of catfish.

"Raise catfish in the yards for both own consumption and for sale. So this catfish can make families healthy and prosperous," she said.

Even in Jakarta which has a dense population and limited land, catfish farming can be run, Ani said.

At the event, organized by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Ani also called on the entire community to change their outlook that often saw catfish as an unhealthy food product.

Moreover, Ani also urged parents to teach their children to eat fish which had high protein in an effort to improve the quality of human resources.

The catfish festival is intended to improve the image of cultured fish which is often considered as not clear but a clean fish which is safe and healthy for consumption and could improve the intelligence and welfare of the people.

The catfish festival includes such activities as business meetings which bring together catfish entrepreneurs. It also presents cooking competitions for various kinds of catfish menus.

Exhibitions on various kinds of processed catfish food products ranging from catfish abon (shredded meat), catfish crisp, pecel lele to catfish soup.

National production of catfish in 2008 reached 114,371 tons, and in 2009 it increased nearly 75 percent to around 200 thousand tons.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has set itself a target of an increase catfish production by 450 percent to 900 thousand tonnes in 2014.

Catfish is a popular fish species in communities that has a significant growth of approximately 32 percent per annum during the period 2005-2009.

The national consumption of catfish in 2009 only reached 30.17 kg per capita per year, still below the recommended 31.40 kg per capita per year.

The Grand Catfish Festival aims to encourage the development of the catfish industry in Indonesia, particularly in the marketing aspect and encourage the development of catfish consumption in the community.

The last whale hunters of Indonesia

msnbc.com,

Meredith Birkett says: Photographer Luke Duggleby captured stunning and startling images of the centuries-old tradition of whaling in Indonesia.

At a May 2009 World Oceans Conference, the Indonesian government officially declared 3.5 million hectares of critical marine habitat in the Savu Sea for conservation. Though government representatives have assured that traditional whaling -- which has been supporting the surrounding communities means of living -- will not be banned in the area immediately outside the zone, concerns still remain. Lamalera is one of the last remaining Indonesian whaling communities and is categorized by the International Whaling Commission as aboriginal whaling.

The Indonesian village of Lamalera has hunted whales, sharks and dolphins for the last 500 years. Their method is to leap from a small wooden boat with a long harpoon made of bamboo and spear the animal. In this picture, the harpooner called Gregorious dives from the front of the boat to harpoon a large whale shark which he hits in the head. (Photo: Luke Duggleby / Redux)

Because of the size of the whale shark. which can grow as long as 40 feet, it must be cut up in to small pieces. Here they attempt to get the head in to the boat which takes all the crew members. (Photo: Luke Duggleby / Redux)

Two pilot whales are brought to the beach having been harpooned at sea. Once brought to shore the animal is divided in to parts and distributed to the community, partly for consumption and partly for exchanging with other inland communities for corn and rice. (Photo: Luke Duggleby / Redux)

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Bali to produce 110,000 tons of fish

Antara News, Friday, June 18, 2010 17:09 WIB

(ANTARA/GreenLee WM)Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Bali has a production target of 110,000 tonnes of fish in 2010, which increased from the previous year which was only 106 000 tons, a regional fishery official said.

This target is expected to be achieved, given the fishermen and freshwater fish farming had made maximum efforts to increase production, said Head of Fisheries and Maritime office of the Province of Bali, Gusti Putu Ir Nuriartha said here Friday.

He said the increased production of the fisheries sector will have positive impact on efforts to overcome poverty for fish farmers and fishermen who live on the coast.

Fishers call for strong action to prevent bycatching

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Fri, 06/18/2010 10:29 AM

Fishers from local communities and private companies in the Coral Triangle region have called for a stronger partnership and collaborative measures to prevent the unintended capture of animals in commercial fishing gear.

A three-day forum, which closed here Thursday, discussed ways to prevent the phenomenon, which in the industry is known as “bycatching”. The forum heard that millions of marine animals were inadvertently killed every year by the fisheries industry in the Coral Triangle.

Bycatching is a major cause of death of endangered species, such as turtles, sharks, marine mammals, as well as thousands of tons of fish species that are not eaten that get entangled in fishing gear each year, the forum heard.

“Such ineffective fishing practices are undoubtedly depleting our highly valuable marine species on which millions of people depend for food and income,” said Keith Symington, bycatch strategy leader of the coral triangle program at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

“This forum has created a collaborative platform for fishers to start working closely together to solve bycatching and secure a more sustainable and equitable future for the fishing industry in this region,” he said.

The forum was jointly held by the WWF, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).

Some 100 participants at the forum collectively agreed on a set of recommendations, including mainstreaming bycatching regulations in regional legislation and implementing them into national policies, as well as providing incentives to fishermen to turn to more environmentally friendly catching methods.

Other recommendations included conducting more research and studies to inform decisions on policy.

The forum also agreed to establish partnerships with academic institutions and fisheries schools to raise awareness about bycatching among new fishermen.

“It is urgent for fishers in this region to transform their practices into more eco-friendly ones and cooperate with key players across the entire supply-chain to ensure the health of ocean resources and the future of their business as well,” Symington said.

Narmoko Prasmadji, the ministry’s representative and the executive secretary of the national coordination committee of Coral Triangle Initiative Indonesia, said the ministry would support a plan of action arrived at during the meeting in line with its own policy of reducing bycatching.

“The bycatching issue should be included in the mainstream of the national fisheries policy and should be well implemented and legally enforced,” he said.

The SEAFDEC noted that many fishing operations were guilty of bycatching, with many simply throwing unwanted dead catches back into the sea.

Some shrimp trawling operations can discard up to 90 percent of their catches, while some fishing

operations kill seabirds, turtles and dolphins, sometimes in large numbers.

The Ministry’s Center for Analysis and International Cooperation estimated that 15 percent of every 5-ton catch was bycatch, while the FAO estimated commercial fishing wasted at least 27 tons of marine resources every year due to indiscriminate fishing.

Since 2006, WWF Indonesia and the ministry have initiated a bycatch mitigation program that requires the use of circle hooks for long-line tuna fishing in harbors in Benoa in Bali and Bitung in North Sulawesi.

Forty one sail boats registered in Sail Banda

Antara News, Friday, June 18, 2010 13:09 WIB

Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - At least 41 foreign sail boats had registered for Sail Banda scheduled for July and August 2010.

Coordinator of the Sail Banda local committee, Cak Saimima, said in Ambon Friday that registration is still open until the middle of July 2010.

The participating sail boats were scheduled to be seen off at Darwin, Northern Territory, on July 24, 2010.

The participants were expected to have arrived at Banda, Central Maluku regency, on July 27, 2010.

Saimima said that the participants from Darwin will be heading for Banda and received with art and cultural performances, and directed to various maritime tourism, and historical and cultural objects for three days.

The route from Banda to Ambon, with the peak program of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declaring Maluku as the main national fish supplier is scheduled on August 3, 2010.

Various activities like national and international seminars on marine resources, coasts and small islands, art and cultural performances, visiting tourism objects, and a feast at Ambon Bay.

President SBY based on Decision No 35 of 2009 dated December 14, 2009, declared Banda, Ambon city and Tiakur, the capital of South West Maluku regency, are the locations of Sail Banda.