Holland: In your opinion, what’s needed to get Indonesia’s pole-and-line industry back on track, and what is the timeline to accomplish this?
Padjung: Basically all we need is good management and coordination along with minimal additional investment that’s appropriate for pole-and-line tuna. The resources and capacities are already there; we need partnerships to put those resources together, between public (government and non-profit organizations including donor agencies), private (brand, market, processors and industry), and communities or people (fishers, labor). It is a Public Private People Partnership (P4). A reasonable timescale to achieve this would be five years.
How important are Indonesia’s fisheries to the country’s economy?
The seafood sector accounts for 2 percent of Indonesia’s GDP — one-third of which is exported revenue — and provides employment for 5.1 percent of the country’s labor force of 113 million people. Indonesia is a significant exporter of seafood products, particularly shrimp and tuna. It is a growing nation and needs to make the most of all its natural resources, including tuna. Pole-and-line is a major step in this.
Canned tuna processing in Indonesia is in the region of 100,000 MT (compared to Thailand’s 700,000 MT), and this is an area of opportunity as Indonesia has the resource and also the workforce (60 percent of Thailand’s canned tuna workforce is from Myanmar).
The processing opportunities are increasing year-on-year; we have a great opportunity to process 100 percent of the catch in Indonesia (canned, loins, etc.). It’s also expected that Thailand will reduce its loin exports in favor of canned product to optimize value. Indonesia should follow suit.
How serious is the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) problem in Indonesia?
It is estimated IUU is costing Indonesia in the region of USD 4 billion (EUR 3.2 billion) annually; the long-term vision is to reduce and hopefully eradicate IUU from our waters. There are many steps in achieving this goal, with further consultation with the other ministries we will identify possible prevention measures and include these within the tuna development plan.
The Ministry for Regional Development is co-hosting a workshop in September to explore the pole-and-line opportunities for Indonesia. What are you hoping to learn?
We would like to learn a lot more about market access and the drivers behind the pole-and-line debate. The workshop, being held on 3 and 4 September, will be a vital opportunity to engage all the pole-and-line stakeholders, and to assess the longterm benefits for Indonesia’s coastal communities. We are also hoping to create a working group to take the industry forward.
You’re also attending the 10th International Seafood Summit in Hong Kong. What in particular are you hoping to get from the conference?
The summit will be attended by some of the world’s most sustainability-engaged people and organizations. It’s important to learn new ideas and engage with like-minded people. The Summit is the perfect fact-finding mission for us; it presents a great opportunity to hear about other countries’ experiences and the lessons they have learned along the way.
