Farmers Welcome Lobster Larvae Export Suspension

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Workers are wrapping clear lobster seeds in plastic filled with water at an exporting company in the Tangerang area, Banten, Friday (27/11/2020.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS— Lobster farmers have welcomed the government\'s decision to temporarily suspend the export of lobster larvae. The government’s policy to reopen lobster exports early this year was considered to have hampered lobster farming and resulted in the exploitation of lobster larvae.

A day after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officially named Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo a suspect in the lobster export permit bribery case, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry temporarily suspended the export of lobster larvae on Thursday (26/11/2020).

The export suspension is expected to give the government enough time to fix the regulation on exports of lobster clear larvae (BBL) and lobster farming in the country.

"We hope exports will be stopped for good, not just temporarily. Since the issuance of a regulation allowing the exports, we’ve faced difficulties (in getting lobster larvae), Abdullah, a lobster farmer and spokesman a lobster farmers’ group in Telong-Elong, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), said on Friday (27/11).

Also read: Improve Lobster Management

According to him, since the government issued a regulation to allow lobster larvae exports in May, this year, farmers have faced difficulty in obtaining lobster larvae. The price of sand lobster larvae was only between Rp 1,000 and Rp. 2,000 per head before the issuance of the export policy. Now, the price has increased to Rp 7,000 per head. Meanwhile, the price of pearl lobster seeds has risen from Rp 7,500-Rp 10,000 per head to Rp 18,000-Rp 22,000 per head.

Sapardi, a lobster farmer in Jerowaru, East Lombok, NTB, also complained about difficulties in getting lobster seeds. According to Sapardi, the price of lobster seeds sold to farmers is the same as that for export.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Workers are wrapping clear lobster seeds in plastic filled with water at an exporting company in the Tangerang area, Banten, Friday (27/11/2020.

The suspension of the lobster seed exports was also welcomed by lobster seed fishermen (seekers) . According to chairman of the branch of the Indonesian Fishermen Association in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Dedi Mulyadi, the export policy had not caused a decline in lobster seeds due to the exploitation of the larvae catches, but also caused uncertainty in prices due to the lack of a price benchmark. So far, fishermen had not benefited from the rise in the price of lobster larvae, he said.

Also read: Lobster Seed Exports Laden with Controversy

Meanwhile, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who also acts as interim Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister, encouraged the evaluation of the lobster clear larvae export policy during a coordination meeting he chaired on Friday.

Luhut allowed the suspension of the export of lobster larvae but asked that the export evaluation be completed immediately to ensure business certainty.

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan

According to Luhut, there is nothing wrong with Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister’s Regulation No 12/2020 concerning the cultivation of lobster (panulirus spp), crab (scylla spp) and crab (portunus spp). "We have checked everything, there is nothing wrong with it. It benefits the people. If there is a wrong mechanism, we are currently evaluating it and stopping it temporarily,” he said.

He, however, acknowledged there were a number of problems, such as in the monopoly of lobster seed transportation. Luhut added that he had asked the Secretariat General of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and its team to evaluate the export policy and report the results within a week. The lobster larvae export policy has benefited fishermen on the south coast, but the policy should be fixed to prevent over exploitation of the lobster larvae.

The acting director general of capture fisheries at the ministry, Muhammad Zaini, hoped the evaluation of the lobster larvae export policy could be completed by December 2020.

According to the existing policy, exporters are required to cultivate lobsters as a condition in obtaining an export permit.

A number of aspects need to be addressed such as those related to the fulfillment of larvae export requirements. According to the existing policy, exporters are required to cultivate lobsters as a condition in obtaining an export permit. Exporters can partner with farmers so they don\'t have to wait for the cultivation process which last between eight and 12 months.

According to Abdullah, the lobster larvae caught by fishermen should be mainly used to support the local lobster farming.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo wears a prison vest after the investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission investigator team at the KPK Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (25/11/2020).

Fishermen should be encouraged to be involved in lobster farming with minimum capital. Exporting a large number of lobster seeds to Vietnam will only benefit the competitor country in the long run as Indonesia would not be unable to compete in the market.

By 2021, Vietnam is expected to harvest large amounts of lobster and dominate the global lobster market. On the other hand, Indonesia will further lag behind. "Exporting larvae on a large scale will only give ammunition to Vietnam," he said. (LKT/BOW/PDS/ZAK/MEL/VIO/FRN/JAL/ITA)