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While unsustainable fishing may cause shortages in seafood availability, there’s certainly an abundance of terrible fish-related puns:

1. ⚖️ Why are fish so easy to weigh? Because they have their own scales!

2. 🧑🏻‍🏫 Why did the fish get bad grades? Because it was below sea level!

3. 🏀 Why don't fish play basketball? Because they're afraid of the net!

🪝 OK we must admit that these were reel-y bad so let’s move on to the main content of this newsletter—sustainable fisheries—before we get too hooked on these bad dad jokes.

🧐 What’s the deal with Sustainable Fisheries?

First of all, this kicks off our three-part Blue Economy series, in which we’ll be discussing how aquatic livelihoods, including fishing 🎣, algae cultivation 🥬 and aquaculture 🦐 are being impacted by climate change. So, before we dive too deep into sustainable fisheries, it’s worth discussing the taxonomy a bit…

🐠 Aquaculture refers to the controlled cultivation of aquatic organisms, whereas capture fisheries refers to catching naturally-occurring aquatic organisms in wild bodies of water. The total production of fisheries & aquaculture worldwide reached 214M tonnes in 2020, with aquaculture driving the growth for the last 4 decades. This can be further disaggregated into the following:

1. Aquaculture accounted for 123M tonnes (58%) worth USD280B

2. Fisheries accounted for 90M tonnes (42%) worth USD141B

💸 Aquaculture accounts for 2/3 of the economic value and it’s growing.

🌊 The majority of both aquaculture and fisheries activity is in marine waters (oceans, seas), with around 88% for fisheries & 56% for aquaculture. Most of this is for food consumption, so it’s a key component of food security (FAO, 2022).

🌏 Southeast Asia accounts for over 10% of global fish production yet its biodiverse marine ecosystems grapple with challenges such as reduced fish stocks due to an acidifying ocean, which is itself caused by climate change. Moreover, overfishing further aggravates fish supplies.

Let’s focus on Indonesia—the biggest market in Southeast Asia that boasts the world's second-longest coastline. The country has a major overfishing problem with 75% of the total fisheries area fully exploited or overfished. Overfishing has also led to coral reef destruction, which is caused by damaging methods such as bombing 💣 and poisoning ☣️ (Global Coral, 2002). This is especially problematic in Southeast Asia because the region is home to the Coral Triangle, an area that boasts 76% of coral and 37% of reef fish species despite only accounting for less than 2% of the oceanic area; for this reason is it sometimes called the “Amazon of the seas” (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2018).

There are some positive signs however, fisheries in Southeast Asia have begun begun to adopt more sustainable practices such as those below:

🎣 In Indonesia’s West Papua region for instance, a tuna company has recently become certified and recognized for its sustainable “pole-and-line” practices by the Marine Stewardship Council (The Guardian, 2019).

🛡️ The Indonesian government aims to promote more sustainable fisheries practices by implementing a measured-catch policy within the fisheries management area through regulations that safeguard the fish species and their environment. Indonesia has over 28.9 million hectares of marine protected areas (MPA) as of 2022, and is committed to expanding its MPAs to up to 32.5 million hectares by 2030, with the ultimate goal of reaching 30% of the country’s total marine area by 2045 (The Jakarta Post, 2022).

📉 Despite being the number one producer of fishery commodities on an absolute basis, Indonesian fishers were less productive on an average individual basis compared to other countries. For instance, in 2016 Indonesia only produced 1 ton of fish per farmer, compared to China with 10 tonnes of fish per farmer and Norway with a whopping 165 tonnes per farmer (FAO, 2020b). The Indonesian government can play a key role in enabling more productive capacity by working with all relevant fisheries industry stakeholders—including researchers, financial institutions, fish farmers, and innovators—in order to remove bottlenecks for scale.

➕ Moreover, Indonesia should push for the development of alternative marine commodities to create new demand within the fishery sector. For example, seaweed, one of Indonesia’s fastest-growing commodities, is exported in its raw form. Seaweed can be processed into food, cosmetics, seasoning, and even fertilizer (Seaweednetwork, 2023). The same can be done for shrimp— Indonesia’s highest-valued aquaculture commodity—its shell can be processed into a feed that is rich in nitrogen (Yulianto T., et. Al, 2021) or chitin (Xuefang Hu et. Al, 2020).

⏩ We will cover more about seaweed and aquaculture in the next two issues!

📚 Want to learn more about this topic?

1. “The State of World Fisheries & Aquaculture: Towards Blue Transformation” by FAO

2. “Trends in Marine Resources and Fisheries Management in Indonesia: A Review” by WRI Indonesia and The David & Lucille Packard Foundation

3. “‘One fish at a time’: Indonesia lands remarkable victory” by The Guardian

4. “Indonesia’s tuna fisheries race for sustainability” by Eco-Business

📢 Shout-outs to WRI, Azura, and Aruna!

WRI Indonesia—our co-authors this week—believes in putting people, nature, and climate at the forefront in answering Indonesia’s development challenges. They combine robust science-based analysis and innovative approaches to tackle today’s most pressing challenges. They work closely with partners in government, business, and civil society to develop innovative strategies that drive economic opportunities and a more sustainable world. In their Ocean program, they aim to create a healthier and more resilient coastal city by conserving the coastal ecosystem, including blue carbon and improving blue food productivity, aligned with nature-based solution impact.

To learn more, you can check out their website.

Aruna is an integrated fisheries commerce and supply chain aggregator in Indonesia that revolutionizes the Indonesian fisheries supply chain, as well as connecting small-scale fishers to wider markets through technology. It also contributes to the encouragement of economic inclusion growth and the implementation of sustainable business practices. The company was founded by three people (Farid Naufal Aslam - Co-founder and CEO, Utari Octavianty - Co-founder and CSO, and Indraka Fadhlillah - Co-founder and COO) who share the same dream in making Indonesia the world’s maritime axis by 2045.

To learn more, you can head over to their website!

In 2020, Azura Indonesia commenced its journey when Nadea Nabilla, an Indonesian electrical engineer holding a Master's degree from South Korea, founded the organization to address sustainable fishing practices in Bali. With a vision to transform ocean conservation, Azura IDN introduced Manta One as its flagship product, aiming to empower small-scale fishermen. Through meticulous assessments spanning 3 provinces locally, 4 international locations, and engagement with over 200 Indonesian and 35 international fishermen, Azura IDN explored the challenges and needs of these communities. Their findings highlighted Manta One's potential in alleviating the fishermen's high fuel expenses. 

As Azura IDN prepares for a fundraising initiative in Q1 2024, those seeking further information can contact the founder at [email protected]

🗞️ Recent News

👍🏻 Good News

💰 Asian Development Bank provides USD 166 million for seafood sector improvements in Indonesia, Cambodia (SeafoodSource, 4 January 2023)

👎🏻 Bad News

🎣 Southeast Asia eyes seafood export bounty as sustainability falls by the wayside (South China Morning Post, 9 December 2023)

💀 Eating Away Our Food: Ocean Acidification Impacting Fisheries in Southeast Asia (Fulcrum, 6 June 2023)

🎙️ Interview with Michella of CollaBit

💡 Why were you initially inspired to work in the blue economy to begin with?

🐟 My family pioneered fishing in Bitung, North Sulawesi—a city in Indonesia known for its tuna industry—30 years ago. As a diver and ocean lover I'd rather see the fish alive, but my day job required me to hunt them for a living and that didn’t align with me. Unfortunately, exiting the business was not an option as the industry is responsible for lots of livelihoods. This inspired me to start my journey as what is known by many now to be “Tuna Girl”, back in 2017. 

🤿 The deeper I dove into ocean ecosystem challenges, the better I got to know the livelihoods of the coastal island communities. The more I learned about blue economy innovation opportunities beyond fisheries, the more passionate I got about it. I found my calling to unite, disrupt, and show a kinder, and better business model for the fishing industry that is inclusive, less wasteful & more regenerative by using biotech and engineering to implement innovative marine technology solutions.

🛠️ How exactly is CollaBit solving it?

CollaBit—which stands for “Collaboration Bitung”—is an Indonesian marine biotech that converts marine by-products into high value marine ingredients. We aim to build trust from the biggest fishing industry stakeholders (families, processors, traders).

🚀 The goal is to be able to scale the production of marine ingredients from Indonesia's fishing industry, so we can make marine nutrition available and affordable for the Indonesian communities that need it the most!

♻️ Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of tuna. However the problem is that 50% of it is discarded and treated as waste, with the fish waste mostly dumped into the ocean, increasing ocean acidity & ammonia levels as well as results in a big missed opportunity in revenue. Being a maritime country, Indonesia should be leading in marine biotech manufacturing, but most marine ingredients are currently imported. These marine ingredients can be directed to solve nutrition gaps such as stunting, which sadly is still a big challenge for Indonesia to face. 

😲 What is a surprising misconception about sustainable fisheries?

💚 You don’t necessarily have to go vegan to save the ocean. Wildlife fisheries are our natural dividend from the ocean that supplies the world with low environmental impact, healthy protein, and a trillion dollar opportunity, if done right. Moreover, billions of people rely on it for livelihood, employment and food; so we cannot give up on the fishing industry! 

🎬 What actions can readers take now to support your cause?

📢 We’re open to working with anyone who is passionate about blue economy, fishery, and nutrition! Our mission is to promote Indonesia-produced marine ingredients (collagen, fish peptides, fish protein, fish oil, calcium) and reduce reliance on imported ones.

🤝 We’re looking for brand partnerships with aligned valued brands in the F&B space, skincare & cosmetics, wellness, supplements, as well as pet food that wants to include marine ingredients such as collagen in their products to improve nutrition & health benefits:

• 😇 We’re looking for advisors & angel investors that share CollaBit’s vision and mission

• 🧑🏻‍🔬 Calling for scientists, and engineers specializing in bio-technology, and bio-processing, researchers, and physicians, to join us!

📧 You can email us at [email protected] to find out more. 

🦸🏻 What do you do when you’re not saving the world?

🏝️ I love diving, island hopping, catching sunrise and sunsets, hosting networking events to facilitate inspirations, learning journeys and mentoring at #Hack4ID.

⭐ In my role as NEXUS Indonesia Country Director and NEXUS Asia Leadership, I unite like-minded young leaders in Asia who has intentions and resources to bring positive social impact in order to unleash local and global capital in Indonesia.

⏭️ Next week, we’ll be continuing our three-part blue economy series with an issue on seaweed!

❓ Did you enjoy this week’s issue? If yes, please do forward to your friends who would enjoy the read as well. Also, feel free to let us know what you thought by giving us feedback at [email protected].

🌊 SEA you next week!

Karina & Massimiliano