Fishing in Indonesia - case study
In Indonesia, fishing and aquaculture play a vital role in the country's economy, influencing the livelihood of much of the Indonesian population.
In 2003, inland fisheries, marine fisheries and aquaculture provided more than six million people with direct employment, with over half depending on marine capture fisheries for their income. Fisheries also play an important role in national food security, since fishery products are generally consumed by poor households across the country and fish is the main source of animal protein in the typical Indonesian diet.
A 4 ºC rise in global average temperature is expected to have negative implications for fishing and aquaculture across Indonesia. Research investigating the effects of a global temperature rise on marine capture fisheries around the world has found that Indonesia may be one of the countries that experience the largest decline in catch potential. Warmer ocean temperatures can directly affect the physiology, life history, productivity and distributions of fish in the oceans. Furthermore, the availability of food for fish and shellfish, known as primary production, is influenced by variations in nutrient recycling, a process controlled by ocean currents, coastal upwelling and the frequency of El Niño events - all of which could change under a warmer climate.
Such projections may have large implications for food security across Indonesia, due to the negative impact on communities so dependent on fisheries resources for food and revenues.
References
Cheung, W.W.L., V.M.Y. Lam, J.L. Sarmiento, K. Kearney, R. Watson, D. Zeller and D. Pauly. 2010: Large-scale redistribution of maximum fisheries catch potential in the global ocean under climate change. Global Change Biology, 16, 24-35.
Cruz, R.V., H. Harasawa, M. Lal, S. Wu, Y. Anokhin, B. Punsalmaa, Y. Honda, M. Jafari, C. Li and N. Huu Ninh, 2007: Asia. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P.
Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 469-506.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Fishing and Aquaculture, 2011.
