Proceedings of the International Cyanide Detection Testing Workshop

Legal and Management Measures towards Sustainable and Community-based
Marine Ornamental and Food Fishery in Indonesia
Agus Dermawan
Directorate General for Marine, Coast and Small Islands
Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia
Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto
President of Telapak
Indonesia
Ferdinand Cruz
Executive Director of East Asia Seas and Terrestrial Initiative
Philippines
Introduction
The past 15-20 years have witnessed a
progressive deterioration in Indonesia’s
coral reefs. A regional survey by Indonesia’s
Academy of Sciences (LIPI) found that only
6.7% of Indonesian reefs are still in excellent
condition. Overfishing and destructive
harvest techniques negatively influence
biodiversity in all coastal and marine
ecosystems, including mangrove forests,
inter-tidal areas, sea grass beds, coral reef
systems, and the pelagic and abyssal zones.
The widespread use of cyanide fishing
to collect marine ornamental fi shes and live
reef food fi shes are well-documented in the
Indonesian archipelago, as are the resulting
lethal effects upon the marine environment.
The global trade in marine ornamental fi sh
and associated accessories is an industry in
excess of USD 70 million per year. Indonesia
is one of the world’s leading exporters of
products derived from coral reefs, and the
overwhelming majority of these are collected
in unsustainable ways. Millions of people
worldwide, in Asia and in Indonesia depend
on coral reefs, and unsustainable harvesting
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techniques jeopardize livelihoods of coastal
communities.
The trade in marine ornamental fi shes and
accessories fi rst took root in Indonesia in
the 1960s. In the early 1990s Bali became the
major base for the marine aquarium industry
in Indonesia, replacing Jakarta and Surabaya.
From 1990-1999 total export volume of reef
fi shes from Bali grew from 2.14-3.94 million
reef fi sh per year; with peak levels reached
in 1996 when 9.78 million reef fi sh were
exported.
It is interesting to note that though export
volume peaked in 1996 and thereafter slowed,
it declined further with the onset of the Asian
fi nancial crisis in 1998. The price setting power
in the marine ornamental and live reef food
fi sh industry lays solely in the hands of the
exporters who ship internationally from Bali,
Surabaya, Manado, and Jakarta. Yet the crisis
was not the only factor which infl uenced
export volume from Bali after 1996. Internal
political chaos in Indonesia starting from
1998 led to an unhealthy business situation
whose repercussions were experienced most