By: Usmawati Anggita Sakti (Seafood Savers Communication Assistant)

The fisheries industry is a sector that plays an important role in natural resource management. Both capture fisheries and aquaculture practiced irresponsibly can threaten the availability of fisheries resources. Based on a 2010 FAO report, 53% of fish resources have been fully exploited and the rest are overutilized, depleted and 1% are recovering.

In response to this concern, several fisheries companies have stepped up to better manage their fisheries activities. PT Bogatama Marinusa or PT BOMAR as one of the fisheries industry sectors engaged in business in the field of shrimp processing and freezing took the initiative to contribute to the improvement of fisheries in Indonesia. The company, which was initially involved in the shrimp farming and hatchery business, especially tiger shrimp (black tiger shrimp) and vannamei shrimp, is determined to become a responsible and sustainable company by registering its farms for ASC certification.

After passing the application process consisting of assessment and improvement stages, PT BOMAR together with three other companies officially became members of Seafood Savers which was marked by the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation Agreement for Seafood Savers Members on April 3, 2017. The signing, which took place at WWF-Indonesia headquarters, aims to provide a legal basis for cooperation between Seafood Savers and PT BOMAR. It was prepared by the Seafood Savers secretariat involving WWF-Indonesia's CEO, Coral Triangle Program Director and WWF-Indonesia's aquaculture team. The Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by the company and WWF-Indonesia CEO, while the Cooperation Agreement is signed by the company and Coral Triangle Program Director. After the successful signing process, the cooperation between PT BOMAR and Seafood Savers in improving the shrimp farming activities of the supplier it registered officially begins.

Through its Seafood Savers membership, the Makassar-based company will implement an aquaculture improvement program (AIP) for tiger shrimp farmers with assistance from WF-Indonesia's Aquaculture Team. The monitoring conducted by the Aquaculture Team covers environmental and social aspects in accordance with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) ecolabel certification assessment points.

So as a first step, PT BOMAR will promote mangrove planting around shrimp farming sites, guarantee social aspects such as employee management and shrimp health. Under the Seafood Savers membership that will last for the next 5 years, PT BOMAR's improvement activities will be evaluated every six months. The results of the evaluation will be made public through the Seafood Savers website. At the end of the membership period, this cooperation is expected to lead PT BOMAR to ASC ecolabel certification.

"The trend of ASC certification is increasing, especially for the Japanese market. This is one of our considerations in addition to contributing to the improvement of fisheries in Indonesia. In addition, the action plan launched by Seafood Savers is in accordance with the company's target. We are optimistic that this cooperation will be realized soon." said Irsan Surya Centama, CEO of PT BOMAR.