Guest Authors
Gayatri Reksodihardjo-Lilley, Founder and Executive Director, LINI
Wiwie, Secretary, Indonesia Marine Ornamental Fish Exporters Association
This past Spring, IndoReefFish partners Gayatri Reksodihardjo-Lilley and Adriel Prayoga from LINI, an Indonesian fisheries conservation NGO, introduced Aquarium Fisheries' Director Paul Anderson to Mr. Djohan Tjiptadi and Wiwie of CV. Cahayabaru, a marine aquarium fish exporter with locations in Jakarta and Bali, Indonesia.
Cahayabaru has been exporting marine aquarium fishes from Indonesia to points around the globe since 1975. They were one of the few exporters to achieve Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) Certification, and their Certificate still hangs proudly in their office. In recent years, Cahayabaru has conducted programming with IndoReefFish partner LINI, for example by hosting fish health workshops for Indonesian fish traders.
Cahayabaru is a leading voice in the Indonesian marine aquarium trade. Djohan serves as Chairman of AKKII, the Association of Coral, Shells, and Fish in Indonesia, and also on the Board of Directors for Nusatic, a major international aquarium fish exhibition in the country. Wiwie serves as Secretary for INOFE, the nation's aquarium fish exporters' association.
Indonesia's marine aquarium fish exporters have been organized in an association since 2003. The Indonesian Ornamental Fish Exporters Association, INOFE, is comprised of 33 companies. Their Vision is to be a forum for a community of Indonesian aquarium fish traders that prioritizes environmentally sustainable practices; and to represent this community to the Indonesian government and fisheries agencies.
INOFE sees its roles in promoting sustainable business practices as multi-faceted. They aim to:
- Train and develop fishers to catch fish using environmentally friendly methods
- Pursue continuous innovations in fish capture, handling, and transport
- Promote an order-driven trade, which meets demand without oversupply
- Build capacity for aquaculture
- Promote the marketing of Indonesia's marine aquarium fish trade overseas
- Educating fishers about fisheries permits and regulations required for compliant and legitimate fishery operations
- Promoting catch and trade data collection among fishers and traders
- Collaborating on fisheries and trade research
INOFE is enthusiastic to collaborate with IndoReefFish to develop a model for sustainable sourcing of marine aquarium fishes that links public aquaria and zoos to the reefs that they exhibit, and the people whose livelihoods depend on those reefs. In particular, INOFE is keenly interested in IndoReefFish's strategy to conduct a Value Chain Analysis of Indonesia's marine aquarium trade; which may result in recommendations to align sustainability with better business operations and profits of fishers and traders across the country's value chain.
IndoReefFish is empowered by its partners: The John G. Shedd Aquarium, Aquarium Fisheries, Rare and LINI; and the support of marine aquarium fishery businesses, associations, and agencies across Indonesia. This program is sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
