The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is striving to boost upstream and downstream tuna fishery investments in Indonesia through the Indonesia Tuna Investment and Business Forum, scheduled to be held in Surabaya, East Java, on June 25, 2024. The event will discuss sustainable tuna resource management and fish protein hydrolysate technology. According to Machmud, Secretary of the Directorate General of Strengthening Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products (PDSPKP), this event is part of the Year of Tuna activities aimed at increasing tuna fishery investments from upstream to downstream. The business prospects for tuna commodities are promising, with a positive trend in global trade for skipjack and frigate tuna (TCT) over the past few years. The global trade value of TCT commodities has risen from USD 14.37 billion in 2017 to USD 16.81 billion in 2022. Indonesia has benefited from this growing demand, with its TCT export value increasing from USD 0.66 billion in 2017 to USD 0.96 billion in 2022, showing an annual growth rate of 29.3%. Machmud is optimistic that tuna export values will continue to rise, bolstered by the Ministry’s successful negotiation to reduce tariffs on processed tuna to 0% in Japan through the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA), expected to be implemented by the end of 2024. He emphasized the need for collective efforts to optimize the tuna commodity.
Supporting this view, Hari Maryadi, Secretary of the Fishery Product Quality Control and Safety Agency (BPPMHKP), stressed the importance of quality assurance to maintain the acceptance of tuna products in export markets and ensure their quality in the domestic market. Ridwan Mulyana, Director of Fishery Resource Management at the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries, reaffirmed the government's commitment to tuna sustainability, demonstrated by Indonesia's participation in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RMFOs) such as the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). The forum will feature business agreements between the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association and the Indonesian Tuna Longline Association (ATLI), as well as empowerment commitments between the private sector and tuna groups to implement sustainable, traceable, and fair tuna management.
