The exploitation of tuna fish in Indonesia had reached an alarming level and all parties need to cooperate to stop it, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo said.
"The exploitation of various tuna species in Indonesia's fishery management area is at an alarming level," the minister stated here on Wednesday.
He said the species of tuna whose exploitation was alarming included albakor, madidihang, big eye and blue fin tuna. Such species of tuna have been over or fully exploited.
The minister noted that only the cakalang variety of tuna was still in the condition of moderate exploitation.
He said cooperation by all parties in Indonesia and abroad is needed to safeguard the country's tuna resources and business.
Previously, the Peoples Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) had blamed foreign parties, which poached the fish in the Indonesian waters.
"Foreign fishing vessels have become more and more free in poaching Indonesia's resources with facilities provided by the state," Kiaras Secretary General Abdul Halim said on Thursday.
In the meantime, Bali's exports of tuna fish fell 7.75 percent in value to US$ 76.80 million in 2013, from US$ 83.25 million in the previous year.
"The export volume, however, rose 14.62 percent to 16,337 tons, from 14,254 tons in 2012," Bali regional administrations spokesman I Ketut Teneng said here on Tuesday.
Ketut Teneng said frozen and fresh tuna fish dominated Balis exports of 11 types of maritime commodities.
Tuna fish contributed 15.80 percent to Bali's total export earnings of US$ 486.06 million in 2013, he added.
He noted that exports of fishery and maritime commodities were valued at US$ 114.8 million in 2013, down marginally from US$ 114.89 million in 2012.
He said hundreds of fishing vessels unload their catches of tuna every day at the Benoa port to be exported after the cleaning process.
The fish is exported primarily to these countries: Japan at 41.04 percent, the United States at 15.90 percent, Singapore at 2.48 percent and Australia at 8.93 percent, he said.
Smaller parts are also exported to other countries, such as Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands.
