Fisheries of Indonesia, 1972

Indonesia's 119 million inhabitants live on a crowded land mass of some 1.9 million square kilometers (about the size of Texas). The Indonesian's eat about 10 kg. of fish per capita per year; roughly two-thirds of this fish are taken from the sea off the nation's 36,834 km. of coastline. The rest comes from both the inland and culture fisheries. The Indonesian Archipelago with its intricate mixture of currents from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and with its extensive shelf area (1.3 million km2.) is rich in fishery resources. Yet, the fisheries of Indonesia are largely artisanal and have failed to keep pace with the growing domestic demand for sea products.