As the world’s second‑largest aquaculture producer, Indonesia is endowed with superior natural conditions and abundant fishery resources, laying a solid foundation for its aquaculture industry. Data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries show that the country has around 17.91 million hectares of potential aquaculture area, with diversified farming models taking shape, including seaweed cultivation, marine cage culture, freshwater pond farming, and integrated rice‑fish farming. According to ministry estimates, Indonesia’s total seafood output reached approximately 26.25 million tonnes in 2025, hitting a new high in recent years, of which aquaculture output stood at some 6.75 million tonnes. 

　　As room for growth in marine capture fisheries becomes increasingly limited, aquaculture is emerging as a major driver of Indonesia’s fisheries sector, playing a prominent role in safeguarding food security, expanding employment and fuelling economic expansion. The Indonesian government has formulated a fishery governance road map under its blue‑economy framework, prioritizing the development of sustainable mariculture, freshwater aquaculture and brackish‑water farming. Wahyu Trenggono, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia, stated that aquaculture can not only boost upstream and downstream fishery sectors and generate more jobs and economic benefits, but also help curb illegal fishing. 

　　In recent years, Indonesia has kept ramping up investment to expand farming scale and enhance industrial competitiveness. It has identified shrimp, seaweed, tilapia, crab and lobster as five priority aquaculture species. Indonesia is promoting regionally specialized aquaculture and building industrial clusters for shrimp, seaweed, tilapia and lobster in multiple locations, so as to foster coordinated development across the whole industrial chain covering hatchery production, feed supply, aquaculture production, cold‑chain logistics and processing for export. 

　　Indonesia also takes the development of modern fishing villages as an important measure to expand aquaculture production capacity. It is carrying out upgrading work for the first batch of 100 fishing villages. By the end of 2025, construction of 65 projects had reached 60 to 80 percent completion and are expected to be fully completed in 2026; construction on the remaining 35 projects will begin in phases. 

　　While scaling up aquaculture, Indonesia is accelerating its shift toward technology‑driven and eco‑friendly aquaculture. For instance, as the world’s largest tropical seaweed producer, Indonesia accounts for roughly 75 percent of global seaweed supply. Leveraging this edge, Indonesia is constructing an International Tropical Seaweed Research Center in West Nusa Tenggara Province. The center aims to enhace the competitiveness of the seaweed industry through high‑quality seed research and development of high-quality seed varieties, innovation in farming techniques and development of downstream products. Under the “Smart Fishing Village” initiative, Indonesia has piloted an all‑in‑one aquaculture model. It integrates seed breeding, farming production, feed provision, technical training and public science education, and recirculating aquaculture systems are adopted to raise resource‑use efficiency. Pilot programs for this model have been launched at sites such as the Fish Breeding Research Center in West Java Province. 

　　Bilateral cooperation between China and Indonesia in aquaculture has deepened steadily in recent years. China is a major export market for Indonesian aquatic products and an important partner supporting Indonesia’s aquaculture growth. Indonesian statistics indicate that in 2025, Indonesia exported around 491,500 tonnes of aquatic products to China, worth 1.04 billion US dollars. In February 2025, the first meeting of the China‑Indonesia Joint Technical Committee on Fishery Cooperation was convened. The two sides exchanged views on aquaculture development and implementation outcomes, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in deep‑sea aquaculture, disease prevention and control, seaweed farming and digital aquaculture. In November the same year, China and Indonesia jointly hosted a marine technology training course. Chinese experts provided training to Indonesian participants on topics including sustainable aquaculture, offering experience and technical support for Indonesia to improve its aquaculture technologies and advance sustainable fishery development. 

　　Source：People’s Daily