Thailand To Learn Marine Ornamental From RI

Jakarta, Sept 18 (Antara) - Thailand is keen to learn marine ornamental fish cultivation from Indonesia, according to the head of the Human Resources Development Agency at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Suseno Sukoyono. "Many delegations from Thailand`s Coastal Fisheries Research and Development have visited Indonesia to learn about marine ornamental fish farming," added Sukoyono during a discussion on "Synergy of Ornamental Fish Farmers Capacity Building" on Wednesday. According to him, Thailand is Indonesia`s partner as well as a competitor in the global ornamental fish market. However, he noted that although there are many experts in the field of marine ornamental fish farming, 90 percent of the ornamental fish are cultivated in fresh water. He said 70 percent of the world`s ornamental fish are found in Indonesia, and based on the data published by the Association of Coral, Shell and Ornamental Fish Indonesia (AKKI), Indonesia exported US$58 million worth of ornamental fish in 2012, and the world`s total ornamental fish trade currently stands at US$5 billion. Therefore, he mentioned that Indonesia hopes to boost its ornamental fish exports by 10-20 percent this year, in view of the development of the country`s freshwater and marine fish farms.