The Arafura Sea as Prima Donna of Indonesian Fisheries Fishing

The Arafura Sea is a Fishery Management Area (FMA) 718, one of the waters that are the prima donna of Indonesian fisheries fishing, better known as 'The golden fishing ground.' This is evident from the number of fishing boats that have applied for permits to catch in WPP 718. The Arafura Seas is covering the Timor Sea, spanning the Island of Timor (comprising Timor Leste and West Timor – which is part of the Indonesian Province of East Nusa Tenggara) and the north coast of Australia, and the Arafura Sea spanning the Indonesian Provinces of Maluku and Papua, the north coast of Australia, bordered by the Torres Strait and the western coast of PNG. The Arafura Sea is one of the vast and productive areas of demersal fish resource in Indonesia since this area is regularly enriched by the nutrient rich upwelling from Banda Sea and nutrients carried by rivers flowing from mangrove forested terrestrial of Papua. Therefore, this fertile condition has stimulated the rapid growth of demersal species in this area. The area is one of the most important fishing areas for demersal and shrimp resources in Indonesia.

There are three at least three major markets for snappers from Arafura and Timor Sea:

1. To domestic market: where snappers mostly caught by small scale, artisanal fisheries.

2. To the US market: where raw materials supplied from the bottom longline based in East Java. The snappers caught by these vessels are considerably high quality snappers.

3. To China and Thailand market: where snappers came from the fish nets based in Ambon, Dobo and Benjina. The snappers caught by these vessels are considerably low quality snappers.

According to the data from some major processors/exporters, snappers from Indonesia are mostly exported in the forms of:

1. Frozen Whole round, which consist of: Whole Gills Gutted Scaled (WGGS) – Gill off, Gut off and Scale off (Size: 0.5-1, 1-2 lbs); Whole Gilled Gutted (WGG) – Gill off, Gut of and Scale on (Size: 0.5-1, 1-2 lbs)

2. Frozen Fillet, which consists of: Fillet natural skinless/boneless - Size: 4/6, 6/8, 8/10, 10/12, 12 Oz UP; Fillet natural skin-on/boneless - Size: 4/6, 6/8, 8/10, 10/12, 12 Oz UP; Fillet portion cut skin-on/boneless, - Size: 4/6, 6/8, 8/10, 10/12, 12 Oz UP; Fillet portion cut skinless/boneless - Size: 4/6, 6/8, 8/10, 10/12, 12 Oz UP; Steak skin-on/bone-in