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Tag: fish

  • Imported seafood prices skyrocket amid transport restrictions

    Imported seafood prices skyrocket amid transport restrictions

    The prices of imported king crabs and abalones have risen by 30-50 percent in HCMC due to limited supply caused by mobility restrictions.

    King crabs are sold at VND2.5-2.9 million ($109-126) per kilogram, 50 percent higher year-on-year.

    Australian and South Korean abalones are sold at 30 percent higher at VND1.6-1.8 million.

    Salmon prices are up 18 percent at VND650,000.

    A seafood importer who owns a restaurant in the city’s Tan Binh District blamed the price rise on a supply shortage, saying the semi-lockdown has made transporting seafood difficult.

    Another reason is the limited number of flights coming to Vietnam from abroad.

    Another importer said half the crabs died on the way to Vietnam due to flight delays, causing him losses. He has stopped selling for now.

    Tran Van Truong, CEO of seafood chain Hoang Gia, said flights from Norway to HCMC are rare and in most cases have to transit in other countries.

    Many sellers are increasing the sale of domestic seafood items such as red tilapia and squid to survive.

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  • OmniFoods introduces faux fish range

    OmniFoods introduces faux fish range

    Green Monday, the founder of the OmniFoods plant-based meat alternative products, has expanded into seafood unveiling six plant-based alternative fish products Tuesday, with more to follow.

    “Now, we can enjoy fish and chips without harming the ocean,” said Green Monday co-founder and CEO David Yeung.

    The initial products include precooked battered deep-fried fillets, classic fillets, and burger-shaped fillets and OmniTuna. Faux salmon and crab meat products will join the range soon, while the tuna product marks the first Omni product that can be stored in ambient conditions with no need for chilling or freezing.

    OmniFoods products are distributed in Australia by partners but details of when the seafood replacements will go on sale have yet to be revealed.

    Yeung said the new products can be used in almost any type of cuisine including Thai, Japanese and Korean dishes. They have zero cholesterol, 9gm of protein and have Omega-3, a naturally occurring ingredient of fish, added.

    Researched by Green Monday staff since 2018, the products will be produced in Thailand and soon China as well.

    Since launching in 2012, Green Monday has grown to include advocacy and investment arms as well as producing pork substitutes and investing in Beyond Meat. Today, OmniFoods products are sold in 40,000 points of sale in more than 20 global markets.

    Yeung told the launch event that it is essential the world’s population reduces its consumption of seafood due to depleting resources resulting from overfishing. Global seafood consumption has exploded nine-fold in just 70 year.

    “Ninety percent of the big fish have been wiped out. We are not even talking about dropping supply, we are talking about extinction.”

    With 73 percent of the world’s fish consumption in Asia, OmniFoods is looking to target Asian markets with the new products and engaging chefs around the region to adapt traditional recipes with OmniFoods’ seafood substitutes.

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  • Another gloomy year forecast for tuna exports

    Another gloomy year forecast for tuna exports

    Vietnam’s tuna exports declined by 9.8 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and are showing no signs of recovery.

    Analysts point to two reasons for the continuing slump: the unpredictability surrounding the pandemic and intense competition from low-priced Chinese canned tuna in its largest market, the U.S.

    Besides, consumers prefer tuna with the blue MSC label representing certification of the sustainable fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council.

    Tuna exports were worth $649 million last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Vietnam exports the fish to 108 markets.

    Vietnam’s largest markets after the U.S. are the E.U., Canada, Southeast Asia, and Israel.

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  • Seafood exports plummet

    Seafood exports plummet

    Seafood exports in January fell 25 percent year-on-year and are set to continue falling due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

    They fell to $556 million, with exports of pangasius fish falling by 64 percent, octopus by 50 percent and tuna by 30 percent, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said in a report.

    It attributed the drop to the seven-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in January, adding exports would continue to fall in February and March since the epidemic has limited exports to China.

    In the worst case, seafood exports to China will fall 30 percent in the first half to $400 million. But if there is limited border trade, the impact could be mitigated somewhat.

    China was Vietnam’s fourth-largest market last year, with exports being worth $1.23 billion after rising 22 percent.

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  • FreshToHome raises US$11 million

    FreshToHome raises US$11 million

    Indian online fresh fish and meat retailer FreshToHome has raised US$11 million in funds led by Hong Kong-based CE Ventures.

    FreshToHome, which currently operates in Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR, Kerala, Chennai and Dubai, now intends to grow its business throughout all tier-I Indian cities. It will use the fresh capital to develop its supply chain by extending its proprietary sourcing technologies to farmers and fishermen nationwide.

    “We are disrupting the food-supply chain in India with our patent pending commodities exchange technology offering food that is free of added chemicals to end consumers and a fair price to the producers,” said FreshToHome founder and CEO Shan Kadavil. “Most of our capital has gone into re-inventing the food supply chain.

    We currently sell meat and fish sourced from more than 1500 fishermen and farmers on our platform, using our state-of-the-art technology backed with cold chain infrastructure, a fleet of dedicated refrigerated trucks, using the hub and spoke distribution model from four large processing factories to ensure traceability and food safety.”

    The business claims more than 400,000 customers within four cities, trading in fish sourced from 125 Indian coastlines. It reports a turnover of more than ₹12 crore ($1.72 million) GMV per month.

    “The meat-and-seafood segment in India is pegged to be a $30 billion market, but we have to keep in mind that it’s a highly fragmented industry,” said CE Ventures director Tushar Singhvi.

    “FreshToHome.com is not only trying to streamline the industry, but they’re also using technology to revolutionize the way the industry functions by disintermediating the supply chain, eliminating the middleman, and working directly with the fishermen and farmers in a marketplace model to make fresh and chemical free food accessible to the masses at large.”

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  • Vietnam targets $10 bln seafood export

    Vietnam targets $10 bln seafood export

    Vietnam hopes to export $10 billion worth of seafood this year, meeting its 2020 goal a year early. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said at a recent conference it would include $4.2 billion worth of shrimp, $2.3 billion worth of pangasius fish and the rest from other products. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the $10 billion target is high but achievable since Vietnamese seafood is liked in international markets.

    VASEP president Ngo Van Ich said shrimp exported to the U.S. is expected to face a lower anti-dumping tariff this year.

    Vietnam’s recent accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership would also help increase exports, he said.

    But there are also challenges.

    Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary, said the country faces difficulties like shrinking catches and intense competition from other exporting countries.

    A major hurdle is the ‘yellow card’ restriction slapped by the European Union since 2017 for illegal fishing.

    The European Commission has said it would ban seafood imports from Vietnam unless it does more to tackle illegal fishing by Vietnamese vessels in other countries’ territories.

    After an evaluation done last May the European Commission said it would consider lifting the yellow card in 2019.

    Vietnam ranks among the top ten seafood producers in the world, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

    Last year its exports were worth $9 billion against a target of $9.5 billion.

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  • Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend Vietnamese fish imports

    Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend Vietnamese fish imports

    Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has decided to temporarily suspend the import of fish and shrimps from Việt Nam.

    The ban, effective from March 1, is in accordance with the regulatory procedure for fish and other aquaculture export establishments of SFDA, according to a note published on the Saudi Aquaculture Society’s website.

    The decision came after a delegation of several regulators, including SFDA, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Saudi Aquaculture Society conducted an inspection tour last month to 24 Vietnamese facilities that exported to Saudi Arabia.

    The delegation found that only nine facilities met the hygiene requirements of Saudia Arabia.

    The suspension will be in place until the facilities complied to Saudi Arabia’s requirements.

    This is one of the most serious actions by Saudi Arabia against Vietnamese exporting firms.

    The Việt Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on January 30 also announced the SFDA’s notice about the temporary ban.

    The notice said that Saudi Arabia was instituting the emergency measure to prevent the introduction of white sport disease and acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease into the country.

    The Việt Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point urged relevant agencies to raise appropriate measures to tackle this problem.

    SFDA has also temporarily suspended the import of aquaculture products from Bangladesh and Myanmar and farmed fish from India, according to Saudi Aquaculture Society.

     

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  • Vietnam fish exporters aim to crack Europe

    Vietnam fish exporters aim to crack Europe

    The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) is showcasing Vietnamese seafood products at the Seafood Expo Global, which is being held in Brussels, Belgium, from Tuesday to Thursday. In a 264sq.m. booth, the association introduced Viet Nam’s seafood specialties, including tra fish (known as pangasius), shrimp, tuna and tilapia fish, as well as cattle fish, octopus and dried seafood products, all of which come from 25 Vietnamese seafood producers and exporters.

    The pavilion attracted foreign businesses, which shared experiences in trading aquatic and seafood products.

    In the context of a pangasius crisis in Spain and the Carrefour supermarket chain ceasing to sell Vietnamese pangasius, VASEP and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a press conference at the exhibition to provide clear information about Viet Nam’s pangasius processing and exports to European partners.

    In his interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents, VASEP general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said the press conference aimed to create a correct information channel to deal with the communication crisis on pangasius, targeted at increasing exports of Vietnamese aquatic and seafood products to Europe.

    Alfons van Duijvenbode, a Dutch consultant, said European consumers have a bad impression of Vietnamese pangasius due to false information on social media.

    In recent years, the consumption of Vietnamese pangasius has fallen in the EU, meanwhile other fish have maintained or even increased sales volum, he said.

    He suggested the Vietnamese aquaculture industry interact more with consumers to provide them exact information about the products.

    Head of Vietnamese Trade Office in Belgium Nguyen Canh Cuong said that the office had worked with local partners such as Foreign Trade Association to provide information to Belgium businesses and consumers.

    Also at the event, Viet Nam held other trade promotion activities, including a dialogue for shrimp value chains and a programme for visitors to try Vietnamese seafood.

    Seafood Expo Global, the largest of its kind globally, drew the participation of over 1,600 exhibitors from 77 countries and territories this year.

    It is expected to attract more than 26,000 visitors and exporting and trading enterprises from 144 nations and territories.

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  • Chinese firm plans to process re-fresh cod products for Shanghai retail

    Chinese firm plans to process re-fresh cod products for Shanghai retail

    Beiyang Jiamei Seafood, a Chinese processor switching its business from exports to imports, plans to expand into re-fresh products for the domestic market.

    The company, which is based in Qingdao, hopes to start processing re-fresh, packaged cod products for retail in Shanghai early next year, said Peng Song, its general manager.

    “We have in mind selling re-fresh cod and redfish. I think cod, both Atlantic and Pacific, can be very big in the Chinese market,” he told.

    If this model works, it could then be applied in other Chinese cities, he said. “I think we would be the first company in China to do this,” he said, during the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo.

    The company is also starting to sell frozen cod products into Chinese retail, wholesale and foodservice.

    “For the big, longline Pacific cod, we cut it into steaks. For the Atlantic cod, we make loins, portions and J-cuts,” he said. “I do think this item will boom in China, in a very short time.”

    Chinese in coastal cites do eat Pacific cod, he said, as the same species that is caught by Russians and American vessels is also in Chinese waters.

    But, the species is not sold as “cod” and consumers are unfamiliar. “The catching is inconsistent, so people do not like to promote it. The species may not be new, but to name it Pacific cod, Atlantic cod, that is new,” he said.

    The company is also putting the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) logo on its cod retail bags.

    “We now have most of our products MSC approved. I think that is the future,” said Song.

    “The MSC is also fully traceable, from catch-to-plate. That is a powerful message for the Chinese consumer, who is worried about food safety,” he said.

    Promoting the traceability angle of the MSC logo is the best way to expand in the China market, he said, due to the concerns over food safety in China.

    Shift to domestic sales

    Beiyang Jiamei now generates around $35 million from domestic sales, as well as the same amount from re-processing and exporting.

    For the re-processing business, cod, haddock and arrowtooth flounder are the main species, he said.

    The company only started doing domestic sales in 2011. Beiyang Jiamei is selling into wholesale, into retail and foodservice, and also via online stores on JD.com and Tmall.

    Beiyang Jiamei’s main brand is “Sea Mix”, but it also has another for families, “Dinosaurs”. Also, the company is launching a high-end brand, “Prime Catch”, for crab and other more expensive items.

    A big focus of the domestic business, including e-commerce, is coldwater shrimp. Beiyang Jiamei imports around 5,000 metric tons of coldwater shrimp a year.

    Due to the quota cuts for coldwater shrimp in Canada, the company is now importing more vannamei from Ecuador and also red shrimp from Argentina.

    “We use coldwater shrimp to open the door to the supermarkets. Then, we try and introduce our other products to them. Coldwater shrimp will remain the most important item to us,” he said.

    “Needless to say, the high prices of coldwater shrimp mean vannamei has taken a share of the market,” said Song.

    “The price is RMB 91.50 ($13.53) per kilogram. This is the same price as L1 [Argentine shrimp] or 30/40 from Ecuador,” he said.

    “In China, if you entertain a guest, you want the bigger size to create a good impression”, meaning the vannamei and Argentina shrimp has a strong appeal, he said.

  • Indonesian ministry to boost fish consumption

    Indonesian ministry to boost fish consumption

    The Indonesia Industry Ministry will continue to encourage and increase fish consumption in various regions to raise domestic demand for fish, in an effort to advance the maritime and fisheries sector.

    “We will boost fish consumption, apart from exports, through developing traditional fish industry, which would increase the demand in the fishery sector at home,” Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said.

    The minister made the remarks in his address to the working meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) on fisheries affairs in Jakarta on Monday.

    Hartarto said that his ministry would also encourage fish consumption on a national scale.

    Slamet Soebjakto, Director General of Fisheries of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said his ministry wanted to increase the peoples sources of protein intake through increasing their fish consumption.

    It was earlier reported that the Indonesian government had been giving priority to increase the fisheries production by relaxing regulations for fishermen and local industries. The move is meant to support these sustainable industries in the development of the national fisheries sector and maintain seafood sovereignty.

    As part of the efforts to boost fish production, the government, though the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), had earlier built 15 Integrated Fisheries and Marine Resource Development Centers (SKPT) in various regions in the country. The aim of the SKPT is to boost fishery exports directly from the center without the need to go to Jakarta.

    The SKPT aims to maintain food resilience, increase fish consumption, foreign exchange earnings through exports, and raise the income of the people.

    Five of the SKPT are located in Simeullue (Aceh), Natuna (Riau Islands), Tahuna (North Sulawesi), Saumlaki (Maluku) and Merauke (Papua).

    Ten others are also built in Mentawai Island (West Sumatera), Nunukan (North Kalimantan), Talaud (North Sulawesi), Morotai (North Maluku), Biak-Numfor (West Papua), Sarmi (Papua), Mimika (Papua), Tual (Maluku), Rote Ndao (East Nusa Tenggara/NTT), and Maluku Barat Daya (Maluku).

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  • Indonesia sells 35 containers of kerupuk at Thaifex 2016

    Indonesia sells 35 containers of kerupuk at Thaifex 2016

    Indonesia’s traditional kerupuk (crackers) have become the star among other food commodities displayed at the Indonesian booth during Asia Thaifex 2016 in Bangkok, which is known as Asia’s biggest food and beverage expo.

    The snacks registered total orders of 35 containers worth Rp 12.9 billion ( US$950,000 ) at the event held from May 25 to 29, said an Indonesian trade attaché member in Bangkok, Rita Tri Mutiawati. The Trade Ministry and Industry Ministry collaborated on sponsoring Indonesian companies joining the event.

    “Thanks to the sponsorship of the Central Java administration’s trade and industry service center, Indonesia Selamat Sejahtera booked orders from China for 15 containers of prawn crackers, and South Korea also ordered 20 containers of fish crackers,” she said.

    Aside from kerupuk, Rita further said Indonesian seafood products manufactured by Fresh On Time were able to gain international buyers from the US, Mexico, and the European Union ( EU ) while similar products by Medan Tropical sealed a distribution agent in Thailand and the EU.

    From the 41 Indonesian companies who joined Thaifex, 21 were sponsored by the Industry Ministry, 10 were sponsored by the trade attaché and four were sponsored by the Central Java administration. Only six companies joining the event were without government sponsorship.

    The companies showcased their products ranging from seafood, instant seasonings, confectionaries, hot sauces, coffees, herbal medicines, biscuits, snacks, wafers, green tea, to cashew nuts. Indonesia’s representatives competed with 964 other companies in the event.

    “Thaifex is the door to export food and beverages products to other countries. Indonesian food and beverage manufacturers should not miss this opportunity,” Rita said, adding that there were one-to-one business matchings being made between Indonesian firms with other countries’ firms.

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  • Indonesians urged to eat more fish

    Indonesians urged to eat more fish

    Living in a country, which is rich in fisheries resources, the Indonesian people have been urged to eat more fish to increase their protein intake and boost the growth of the nations younger generation.

    Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry said eating more fish will be useful in increasing the peoples protein intake and for overcoming the growth problem of Indonesian children. “In the past 10 years, one (in three) Indonesian children grew shorter due to (inadequate) food quality,” KKP Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Wednesday.

    She said with the efforts of her ministry to fight fish theft in Indonesian waters, the quantity of fish and fish protein for domestic consumption in the society could be increased.

    Therefore, she said, foreign consumers would not be the only party who would enjoy the countrys premium fish products through exports, but the local Indonesian population could also enjoy the benefits of these resources.

    “Ideally, we export fish after our consumption needs at home have been met,” the minister said, adding that the Indonesian people will meet their nutritional intake and become healthier if they obtain adequate protein.

    The Peoples Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) expects the government to optimize production in the maritime and fishery sector for domestic consumption owing to the fact that the size of the population has increased rapidly over the past several decades. Indonesias population is now pegged at about 250 million.

    “Since the 1990s, the proportion of fishery production for consumption has been increasing. Some 71 percent of fish production in the 1980s was allocated for human consumption,” Kiara Secretary General, Abdul Halim said.

    He said during the period of 1976-2012, the world fish and fishery trade increased 8.3 percent in nominal terms and 4.1 percent in real terms per annum.

    Abdul therefore urged the KKP to remain focused on safeguarding the countrys fish resources amid reports that a number of countries are experiencing a decline in their fish catch.

    “Poaching will continue to be a challenge for the Indonesian people because many countries which have run short of fishery resources,” the Kiara Secretary General said.

    The KKP had earlier said that there has been an upward trend in the fish consumption of the Indonesian people. The increasing trend is believed to be the results of campaigns asking people to increase fish consumption in various parts of the country.

    The KKP in its written statement made available to Antara on March 24, said the countrys per capita fish consumption per annum was recorded at 42.11 kilogram (kg) in 2015, exceeding the target set at 40.90 kg per capita per annum.

    In 2014, fish production for domestic consumption was set at 13.07 million tons, up 10.01 percent from 2013.

    Although it is important to supply fish for domestic consumption, the country also needs to increase its fish exports.

    Toward this end, the KKP will gather the profiles and business plans of fisheries companies in the country to make it easier in the calculation of the countrys fisheries exports.

    “If we know the profiles and performance of fisheries industry, it will make it easier for us to calculate our export targets,” KKP Director General for the Promotions of Maritime and Fisheries Products, Nilanto Perbowo said on March 30.

    Nilanto also invited various partners of fisheries associations to provide data about their performance and business plans. This will be useful for setting the export target and for the issuance of fishery raw material import licenses, he said.

  • Imported salted fish flooding Sukabumi market

    Imported salted fish flooding Sukabumi market

    Imported salted fish products have flooded the traditional markets and attracted consumers in Sukabumi, West Java, because of its low pricing.

    “Imported fish products, including from Thailand and Taiwan, dominated salted fish stalls in Sukabumi,” trader Dani Supriyadi said at Cisaat Market, Sukabumi, on Monday.

    According to him, the imported salted fish products remained the main attraction at the local traditional market due to scarcity of local fish supplies.

    Traders opted for imported products to meet the market demand for salted fish, and stocked them. Another reason for the popularity of the imported salted fish is its low price, compared to the fish produced domestically.

    Sadly, domestic salted fish has been difficult to find lately, because of its limited stock.

    The quality of local salted fish products in the country is better than the imported stock, yet it cannot last long because it is processed traditionally. It does not use chemical preservatives.

    “The local salted fish products should dominate the domestic markets because Indonesia has access to vast water resources in the form of Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, in comparison to Taiwan and Thailand which have rare Sepat fish species and anchovies,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Chairman of Palabuhan Ratu Community Collectors and Fish Processing Palabuhanratu, Telly Supriatna said too little catch of anchovies ios now found in Indonesia due to inappropriate weather. It is believed that since December 2015 and till April this year, the supply will continue to decrease.

    When entering the rainy season, salted fish processing declines due to the fact that drying process takes a long time. As a result, next April, fish production will decrease and supply will fall as well.

    “Salted fish processing in Indonesia is mostly done traditionally, relying on nature for its drying process. Compared to imported products that are already using modern tools, our products become less competitive in the market,” he said.

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  • Indonesia building airstrips to boost export of fresh fish

    Indonesia building airstrips to boost export of fresh fish

    Indonesia is building small runways near 15 fishing villages to help local fishermen export their catch while they are fresh and command a premium, said Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti yesterday.

    The entrepreneur-turned-politician said these 1km-long airstrips – or just long enough to land light aircraft – will connect fishermen from various parts of Indonesia to markets at home and abroad.

    “We can send our fresh products immediately on the same day to Japan or Europe… by opening up direct flights from the eastern part of Indonesia,” she said.

    “The obstacle right now is that everything has to go through Jakarta which takes longer.”

    Ms Susi was in Singapore to deliver a public lecture, organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, on Indonesia’s maritime policy and its challenges.

    She is also meeting businessmen here to discuss trade opportunities and hopes to see investors from Singapore involved in the project to build the 15 airstrips.

    Opening up new gateways to global markets from each fishing sector of Indonesia will be an “incredible breakthrough”, she said.

    Airfreight capabilities will offer the opportunity for local fishermen to enter a high value market because consumers pay a premium for fresh seafood, she added.

    In a public opinion survey carried out in mid-2015, the Indo Barometer Survey and Political Communication Institute ranked Ms Susi as the best-performing minister.

    She also survived President Joko Widodo’s recent Cabinet reshuffle that was prompted by Indonesia’s flagging economic growth since he took office in 2014.

    Her ministry is a key driver behind Mr Joko’s plan to revive the shipbuilding and fisheries industries in a bid to re-establish Indonesia as a maritime power.

    Latest figures showed that the fisheries sector in the country grew 8.6 per cent in the first quarter, outperforming the national growth rate of 4.7 per cent.

    Ms Susi said the sector is set to achieve its target of 10 per cent for the year.

    Noting the importance of the fisheries industry, Indonesia has been trying to maximise the potential of the sector through, among other things, modernisation of current industry practices, abolishing trans- shipment activities, and going after poachers. According to Mr Joko, Indonesia suffers annual losses of more than US$20 billion (S$28 billion) from illegal fishing.

    Enforcement efforts have been ramped up, including the enhancement of its maritime surveillance capabilities. To send a strong signal to poachers, illegal fishing boats seized in Indonesia were duly sunk.

    Statistics in handouts distributed to participants at yesterday’s lecture showed that between 2007 and 2014, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry sank 38 vessels for breaching fishing laws. Joint enforcement efforts with the Indonesian Navy and police, however, saw a total of 59 vessels sunk between last year and this year.

    They do not include the 37 illegal fishing boats it put underwater on Aug 18. The original plan was to take down 70 illegal vessels to commemorate Indonesia’s 70th Independence Day, which falls on Aug 17.

    Its policy of sinking vessels seized from poachers has attracted some criticism.

    Ms Susi defended the policy yesterday, saying that it has not only helped reduce intrusions but also curbed the illegal trade of highly subsidised fuel sold to poachers.

    “The media has made (the sinking of illegal fishing vessels) more sensational, which is sometimes inappropriate but it is needed for a deterrent effect,” she said.

    “But it is good that that we didn’t have that many poachers coming to our waters any more (and) it’s a good sign that we could not sink 70 in August – only 37.”

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