|| Capture Fisheries | Aquaculture
| Seafood
Processing ||
POTENTIAL FISHERIES INVESTMENT AREAS
INTRODUCTION
Along with its traditional of fishing, marine fish been the principal source of
protein for the people of Brunei Darussalam. The per capita fish consumption is one of the highest
in the region at around 45 kilograms per year.
With an estimated population of about 344,500, the total annual consumption of fish
is about 15,500 metric tons. However, with only about 925 fulltime fishermen and
most of them are artisanals, Brunei Darussalam still has to import about 50% of its
fish requirement to supplement the local production.
The industry however is developing especially after the declaration of the 200 nautical
miles Brunei Fishery Limits and also the change in policy that allows joint-ventures. In
term of the resources, Brunei Darussalam is fortunate that due to its abundant oil
and gas reserves, there is no economic pressure to exploit its fisheries resources.
However, realising that oil and gas are non-renewable resources, the Government is
putting a concerted effort to diversify the economy. Fisheries has been identified
as one of the sectors that can contribute to the economic diversification and as
such the Government is giving a number of incentives for commercial fishery development.
The Government, wanting to ensure maximum economic gains and at the same time to
ensure the sustainability of the resources, is only allowing exploitation up to the
"maximum economic yield" (MEY) which is taken to be 20% below the usually used "maximum
sustainable yield" (MSY) level. In this regard, the surveyed fishing areas of
Brunei Darussalam have about 21,300 metric tons of fish at MEY as follows :
Demersal resources - 12,500 metric tons
Pelagic resources -
8,800 metric tons
In addition, Brunei Darussalam is also found to be in the migration path of the tuna
resources and their abundance is scheduled to be surveyed in the near future. At
the same time, there are large resources associated to the numerous off-shore oil-rigs,
purposely-sunk tyres, man-made concrete to reefs and old oil-rigs as artificial reefs and with appropriate gear
and technology, these resources can be exploited.
In term of aquaculture, Brunei Darussalam has a number of advantages such as clean
and unpolluted environment, absence of typhoons, floods and other natural phenomena.
At the same time, the Government has also identified potential areas ready for development
with laid down essential basic infrastructure.
It is anticipated that the steady increase in the population will increase the demand
and with the current liberalization of trade, opportunities for export are there, eventhough
as it is, the local demand and market price in itself already make the fisheries industry attractive.
With the above, the opportunities for development of the fisheries sector in Brunei
Darussalam are open and available and are coupled with a number of Government support
and incentives.
