by M Rustam H
In commemoration of World Oceans Day on June 8 and World Coral Triangle Day on June 9, WWF-Indonesia organized Sustainable Seafood Festival 2014 entitled "Not an Ordinary Fish Market" at Nine Walk, Sector 9 Bintaro, South Tangerang, on June 7-8, 2014.

In accordance with the theme, the concept of "Bukan Pasar Ikan Biasa" is unlike any other fish market, and is the first of its kind in Indonesia. The market features fishermen and farmers from JARING Nusantara, who can sell their catches to the public directly. In addition to choosing and buying, the public can also directly enjoy the fish or seafood products of their choice, because this activity also presents chefs from the Trisakti University Hospitality and Tourism Department who are willing to process fish or seafood products directly to be grilled and fried, and equipped with typical archipelago chili sauce such as mango sauce and shrimp paste sauce.

In collaboration with the Bintaro Citizen Management Association, Not an Ordinary Fish Market is deliberately held in Bintaro, which is dominated by urbanites. It is planned that this environmentally friendly fish market will be held periodically by the association. JARING Nusantara was established by WWF-Indonesia in 2013 with the aim of assisting producers at the fishermen and aquaculture level in carrying out best practices for the capture and breeding of seafood products. Representatives of the participating fishermen groups are members of local NGOs in the region including TAKA, KPI, YKL and Matirottasi who have committed to creating fisheries improvements in Indonesia.

The fish and seafood offered by JARING Nusantara are fresh and brought directly from their respective regions such as mangrove crabs from Pemalang, baling clams and dara clams from Surabaya, various types of reef fish from Makassar, tiger prawns from Aceh and tilapia from Lake Toba. "Not an Ordinary Fish Market" also provided an opportunity for the public to gain knowledge from fishermen regarding choosing fresh fish and seafood products and environmentally friendly fisheries practices. The existence of an entertainment stage also attracted visitors, acoustic strains and percussion beats that accompanied visitors for two days to enjoy seafood dishes that had been processed by the chef.

Visitors gave a positive response regarding this event, one visitor came to the Seafood Savers booth and expressed that this activity should be held regularly, with the addition of the types of fish sold and also the amount of education that can be obtained by visitors. With the presence of "Bukan Pasar Ikan Biasa", it is hoped that it can further increase the awareness of the Indonesian people about the importance of choosing fish and seafood products wisely, so that they can still consume these nutrient-rich foods without making the population decline.

For more information about other environmental conservation activities, please visit www.wwf.or.id