1. Taking the Sea to Market: the Commodification of Marine
Resources in Southeast Asia
Irendra Radjawali
Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies, Bonn University, Germany
radja@hotmail.com
Southeast Asia Today: Dynamics, Contradictions, Perspectives
Universität Bonn , 26.-28.10.2012

2. • Comodification of marine resources [Tuna,
Shark Fin, Tourism, “Nemo” and coral, Live
Reef Food Fish (LRFF)]
• Focus on LRFF fishing and trade
• Food for thought

3. TUNA Commodification
0.8 Mio T
0.4 Mio T
2.2 Mio T
0.6 Mio T
1. Catching
2. Processed into frozen place
Source: formaggiokitchen.com
3. Pre-canning
4. Canning
5. Distribution
(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BlankMap-World-1957.png , FAO 2004, WCPFC 2012, SPC 2012, Orsini 2012)

4. Shark Fin Commodification
70% are catched in the developing countries
Slicing off a shark‟s fin and discarding the body at sea
73-100 Mio. Shark killed / year
Account for 16% of total catch
Value (Indonesia) : US$ 10.6 Mio (1991)
Sources: The Marine Products Association 2012, www.unitedconservationist.org, Shark Advocate International 2012)

5. Tourism commodification
Destinations:
Weh Island
Raja Ampat
Bunaken
Derawan
Bali & Lombok
Phuket
Pattaya
Koh Cang
Langkawi
Donsol
Cebu

6. Ornamental Fish and Coral Commodification
Annual total economic value:
Percentage of the total coral traded (2005):
Exporters: Indonesia, 91% Indonesia US$ 1.600.000.000
Importers: USA 65%, EU 24% The Philippine US$ 1.000.000.000
“NEMO” Amphiprion ocellaris
Source: Knittweis 2008, Jones 2008 photo:MarineBio

7. Capital flow
Risk insurance network
Marine resources flow
1 2
1 Police
2 Water Police
3 Makassar based collector (Indonesian: Bos)
3 4 5
Trading network
4 Jakarta /Bali based collector (Indonesian: Bos)
5 US/Europe based importer
6 7 6 Island-based collector (Makassarese/ Buginese: Punggawa
7 Boat captain / owner
8 9 8 Individual fisherman (Makassarese/Buginese: Paboya)
Fishing network 9 Boat crew / fishermen (Makassarese/ Buginese: Paboya)
Red Soft Coral (Source: Radjawali 2010)

8. Live reef food fish (LRFF) fishing and trade ...constitute a new and unique type of
tropical marine commodity because it
Live reef food fish (LRFF) is the term used for fish hinges on the fish’s biophysical forms
that are kept alive until cooking in order to preserve and their corresponding need to be
their freshness. (Family Serranidae) constantly immersed in clean, cool,
oxygen-rich seawater to survive. ..
1970-1980
HK imports 13,000 tons in Worth US$ 350 M Koeshendrajana 2006,
1980-1990
2002 (official data) Sadovy 2003
Total Hk Imports might US$ 450-500 M Muldoon and Scott 2005, 1990-2000
reach 18,000 tons/year Sadovy 2003
(+unreported)
Global trade reaches US$810M – US$1 B
30,000 tons (HK accounted
for 60%) 2000-Now
Source: California Environmental Associate, 2011 Adapted from Scales et.al. 2006
Napoleon Wrasse
/ Cheilinus undulatus
IUCN Redlist : Endangered

9. Source: Muldoon 2012

10. 150 islands with fringing reefs as well as a large number of barrier and submerged

11. LRFF fishing and trading networks and its economic value
2 hours flight
Hong Kong Ponds in Jakarta or Bali
6 hours flight
Sizing rules
Baby (<0.6 kg) Super (0.6-1 kg) Up (>1.2 kg) Price in HK
Highfinned grouper 7.85 USD 23 USD 36.6 USD 250 USD
Spotted coral trout 3.66 USD 6.27 USD 7.85 USD 100-150 USD
Napoleon wrasse 36.6 USD 300 USD

12. Catching the fish
From The Sea to The Plate
Sodium cyanide/
potassium cyanide
Sodium Nifrustyrenate terramicyn
Keeping the fish „healthy and fresh‟ Anesthetizing the fish
Ready to transport

13. LRFF networks
Prosecution insurance
network
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10
11
Trading network
13 12 14 fish
money
Fishing network
To what extent networks (social) play role in LRFF fishing and trade?

14. Contested Marine Resources
Environmental Debate
[Climate change, Marine Protected Areas
(MPA), sea level rise, fish depletion,
conservation, certification]
Artisanal vs Large Scale
Illegal Unregulted Unreported Commodity fetishism
(IUU) Fishing
Border conflict [black fleet, fish
robbery]
Everyday struggle
[livelihood, debt, credit, corruption, rent-
seeking, assymetry]
Actors: public, private,
government

15. Food For Thought
• Actors [place based and non-placed based, ...]
• Commodification [produces nature in myriads ways]
• Place and space [where decision are made, where decision
applied...]
• Networks and institution [rules, regulation,
structure,centrality,...]
• Scale
• Discourses [Economic, Environmental, Nation-state, Social,
Political,...]
• Everyday struggle [livelihood, debt, corruption, gender
relations,...]

16. Thank you , Danke
Things should be made as simple as possible but not
simpler - Albert Einstein
The goal of science is to make the wonderful and
complex understandable and simple, but not less
wonderful - Herb Simon, Science of the Artificial