A recent conference held in Qingdao, China, brought together Chinese and Indonesian representatives from marine science research institutions, fisheries organizations, and more to discuss how the two nations can better collaborate, particularly when it comes to mariculture projects.
Representatives from the two nations have been holding annual Sino-Indonesian Ecological Marine Ranching Conference meetings since 2023 that have resulted in the launch of projects in Indonesia using Chinese technology and expertise.
One such project established between the two sides included the construction of 240 artificial reefs at a site off the coast of Makassar, a port city on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. That project received Chinese funding as part of a short-term ecosystem recovery effort in the area.
“This partnership seeks to improve the welfare of coastal communities, especially fishermen who rely on marine resources. We must ensure that our oceans remain productive and healthy for the sustainable economic welfare of coastal communities,” Hasanuddin University Professor Jamaluddin Jompa said of the efforts last year.
According to the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which hosted the most recent conference, moving forward, “both sides will focus on deepening cooperation in scientific fields such as ocean dynamics, marine ecology, biodiversity, and seaweed and marine aquaculture, jointly improving the two countries' marine technology capabilities, benefiting their marine economies, and contributing to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.”
Mariculture collaboration is just one of several areas in which Indonesia and China are currently collaborating.
Chinese shrimp firm Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products announced last year it had entered into a strategic partnership with Indonesian firm Bumi Menara Internusa that would see the two firms cooperate on shrimp sourcing and processing.
Chinese seafood firms have also begun to increasingly look to Indonesia not only as a lower-cost production base, but also as an export market as trade tensions threaten traditionally reliable markets for several sectors like tilapia production.
Similarly, Indonesian producers are beginning to turn more to China instead of the U.S.
"With the U.S. pressuring Indonesia's exports, everyone is eagerly looking for new opportunities to diversify [and] to reduce their dependence on the U.S.," Indonesian prawn farmer Denny Leonardo recently told Reuters.
