Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian government is exploring the potentials for cooperation with Portugal in the marine and fisheries sector, particularly the fish processing industry.

"Portugal is a high fish-consuming country," Indonesian Minister of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said in a press release received here on Thursday (Dec. 16).

The potential cooperation was discussed when Trenggono met with Portuguese Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Joao Falcao Poppe Lopes Cardoso, and Indonesian Ambassador to Portugal Rudy Alfonso here on Wednesday.

The ministry’s data showed several Indonesian fishery products that are in demand in the global market including shrimp, tuna, skipjack, crab, cuttlefish, octopus, and seaweed.

Meanwhile, the largest importing countries for Indonesian fishery products are the United States, China, Japan, ASEAN countries, and European Union countries, including Portugal.

Minister Trenggono said that Indonesia was also open to investment in order to accelerate the marine and fisheries sector development, by implementing a number of breakthroughs, one of which was the policy on measured fishing.

He explained that the fishing policy with the zoning and quota system aims to balance ecological and economic interests.

In addition, according to him, the policy is expected to guarantee the quality of fishery products.

"We are increasing the growth of the fishing industry, and this is open as long as it does not interfere ecological sustainability," Minister Trenggono said at the meeting.

Indonesia and Portugal do not have any maritime and fisheries cooperation agreement, but both countries were involved in the establishment of the High Level Panel for an Economic Sustainable Development of the Oceans in 2018. These two maritime countries also support and fight together to solve maritime issues, particularly about marine health.

Not only does the cooperation cover the economic field, but also the environment, maritime infrastructure, aquaculture technology, as well as maritime culture and human resource capacity building, including the protection of Indonesian migrant workers on Portuguese fishing vessels.

Meanwhile, Portuguese Ambassador Maria Joao Falcao Poppe Lopes Cardoso stressed that the cooperation between the two countries was indeed very potential.

Furthermore, the results of the meeting with the marine affairs and fisheries minister would be forwarded to the Portuguese government.

The Portuguese Ambassador also invited Minister Trenggono to attend the U.N. Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon on 27 June-1 July next year.

Reporting by Indonesia Window