The disappearing TUNA

People’s insatiable appetite for tuna has triggered a relentless hunt for the tasty fish, which is now threatening its very existence. This plundering of the ocean’s riches is also threatening the sustainability of its bio-diversity, as modern fishing methods endanger species such as turtles and other marine biota. The Jakarta Post’s A’an Suryana looks into this issue from Bitung, North Sulawesi.
Our love affair with tuna started eons of years ago. The Greeks salted and pickled it. The Romans succumbed to the flavor of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna, turning it into a staple food.

Thousands of years later, tuna is still as popular as ever. It has become part of many people’s diet, across the world. Even Americans have added it to their lunch box, while the Japanese have developed countless sophisticated ways of enjoying tuna.

The rare hon maguro or bluefin tuna is one of Japan’s most coveted delicacies, with a Pacific bluefin fetching as much as US$100,000 per fish. In Indonesia, tuna, especially the yellowfin or “big eyes” tuna, is often served in Padang restaurants across the country.

Some say tuna is popular because it is easier to eat and less smelly than other fish.

“I like tuna because it has a thick texture and not many bones,” said Budi Yanthi, a woman in her 30s. Rizki Amaliah (Kiki), a professional in the oil and gas industry, said tuna was easier on the nose.

“Tuna meat does not smell putrid,” she said.

Yanthi and Kiki are just two of many millions of Indonesians who enjoy eating tuna on a regular basis.

So far, they have been able to eat tuna to their heart’s content, as the oceans’ stocks have kept replenishing. Waters in the eastern part of Indonesia remain rich in yellowfin, skipjack and “big eye” tuna. But if the country doesn’t tackle over-fishing seriously, these species may suffer the same fate as the bluefin tuna, which has now joined the growing list of endangered species.

Over-fishing has been a growing issue of concern for stakeholders in the tuna industry and of course, conservationists.

The high demand for tuna, especially from Japan, has drawn fishing fleets from across the globe to waters rich in tuna, including the Gulf of Tomini, Sulawesi and the Maluku seas.

According to a senior official at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Arafura Sea has become a hotspot for fishing fleets from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Fishermen from The Philippines prefer to hunt tuna in Sulawesi, Maluku, Halmahera, and the northern part of Papuan seas.

“They have modern fleets. We often fail to catch them as our fleets are aging,” said Johnny Banjarnahor, the head of the ministry’s eastern Indonesia fishing monitoring fleet based in Bitung. The fleet has only 10 boats and ships, too small a number to cover the vast expanses of eastern Indonesian waters.

A significant number of local fleets also contributes to over-fishing, therefore the government should also be held responsible for failing to regulate the number of local ships or boats operating in the country’s waters.
Local and central authorities are responsible for granting fishing licenses. The central government issues permits for ships with a fishing capacity of 30 gross tons, while the local government looks after licensing for ships that capture below 30 gross tons.

“The problem has emerged because local governments don’t limit the number of licenses they issue, on the grounds that issuing permits helps fatten local government coffers,” said Purwito Martosubroto, the chairman of Indonesia’s Tuna Commission. The body has been tasked with helping the government draft better policies to protect tuna in the country’s waters.

Tuna catch figures have stalled in recent years, according to data recorded in Bitung seaport. Between 2007 and 2010, the amount of fish caught and traded through Bitung seaport, mostly tuna, was as follows: 135,272 tons in 2007; 142,377 tons in 2008; 145,053 tons in 2009 and 146,940 tons in 2010. Some blame these stagnating numbers on over-fishing.

This is not an isolated case either. In Cilacap, Central Java, the amount of fish caught has been decreasing since 2008. While fishermen there were able to catch 5,600 tons in 2008 and 3,900 tons of fish in 2009, the figure dropped to 2,700 tons in 2010.

Local fishermen confirmed that catching tuna was getting harder nowadays. In the 1980s, local fishermen in Bitung could catch yellowfin tuna 3 kilometers away from the coast, but now they have to sail as far as 64 kilometers off Bitung coast to catch the fish.

“We can’t compete with foreign vessels and their modern equipment so we have to find tuna in high seas,” said Bitung fisherman, Buang Jusuf Tamara, who has been catching tuna for 20 years.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry data showed that the country had apprehended 186 foreign vessels for fishing illegally in Indonesia in 2008, compared to 184 the previous year.

The failure to manage over-fishing has not only taken its toll on local tuna catch, but has also damaged biodiversity in the country’s eastern waters.
Indonesia’s eastern waters are part of the renowned Coral Triangle region. The Coral Triangle — a geographical term referring to a triangular area in the tropical marine waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste — contains at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each eco-region. It covers an area of 5.4 million square kilometers of ocean across six countries. More than 3,000 species of fish live in the Coral Triangle, including the largest fish — the whale shark, and the coelacanth. It also provides habitat to six out of the world’s seven marine turtle species. The Coral Triangle comprises the highest coral diversity in the world: 76 percent (605) of the world’s coral species (798).

Trawling, a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats, threatens the region’s rich biodiversity. Bottom trawling, which involves dragging huge, heavy nets along the sea floor, crushes nearly everything caught in the process. Trawling is unselective and indiscriminate, catching tons of unwanted and fish and other sea creatures, also called bycatch. Global environmental group WWF estimates that at least 40 percent, or 38 million tons, of annual global marine catch is bycatch.

To help address over-fishing problems stemming from this relentless hunt for tuna, the Indonesian government needs to improve its fishing monitoring activities.

“The government has to improve its method of collecting fishing data. The government now has log book in which all fishermen have to declare the volume of their catch, so that based on the data in the logbook, the government can draft the right policy to control its tuna population. But the implementation has been far from perfect,” said Purwito.

In order to avoid paying tax, many fishermen under report the amount of fish caught, which means fish catch data isn’t reliable.

“The government needs to work out solution to tackle this problem,” said Purwito.

The other issue the government needs to address is the growing number of foreign vessels fishing illegally in Indonesian waters.

“The government needs to upgrade our fleets so we can chase and arrest foreign vessels fishing illegally [in our waters],” said Banjarnahor.

SUBMITED : THE JAKARTA POST

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