Indonesia`s fish exports projected at four million tons

Bengkulu, (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has projected its fish exports at four million tons worth USD 2.8 billion this year.

Director General of Fish Management and Marketing at the Marine and Fishery Ministry Prof Martani Husainai said here on Tuesday that the projection was little bit higher than last year`s USD2.6 billion.

"While Indonesian`s fish consumption was still high, production capacity reached only four million tons per year," he said.

Furthermore, Martani said till now the United States is still the biggest destination of Indonesia`s fish exports, followed by Japan and the European Union.

According to him, the lack of facilities and infrastructure for fish catching and processing in some regions had caused Indonesia`s fish production to be low, while Indonesia`s waters are still abundant with fish.

"Bengkulu`s waters for instance, are abundant in fish, but it still lacked the infrastructure," he said.

In the western region, West Sumatra province was the biggest producer of special fishes such as Tuna, and according to him this condition should be used by Bengkulu to cooperate in a bid to increase the fish production.

In the meantime, head of the marine and fishery representative office in Bengkulu, Maman Suherman said his side was building a national fish port in Bengkulu to make use of the existing fish potentials in that waters.