Government bans exports of Java fish
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
The spread of the herpes virus in ikan mas (carp) and koi fishponds across Java has forced the central government to ban exports of the fish.
The head of provincial fresh water fish breeding assistance unit, Muhammad Husein, said the ban was issued earlier this month to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the country.
"In short, the directive says carp and koi cannot enter or leave Java island due to fears that the endemic will affect all of the country's fishponds," Husein said here on Thursday.
Husein said the ban would take effect in three months at the earliest.
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri has given three months to a team of experts to eradicate the virus.
Husein said Indonesian fishery experts had yet to discover medicine that would cure fish infected with the virus.
Quoting preliminary reports, Husein said the virus was first detected in the East Java district of Blitar after breeders received the small fish from Japan back in April this year. Gradually the virus spread to fish-breeding centers across the island, including in West Java.
West Java is the largest fish suppler in the country, boasting 17 billion fish. The figure accounts for 52 percent of national consumption of fish.
Nearly one-third of fish bred in West Java, which equals 33,000 tons, is carp.
Head of the provincial husbandry office Djunaidi estimated the financial losses fish farmers would suffer as a result of the trade suspension would reach Rp 18 billion. The farmers normally send 50 tons of carp and koi every day to Sumatra.
The loss may increase as West Java also supplies small fish to Kalimantan.
Despite the endemic, fish supply within the province and to Jakarta continues, according to Djunaidi.
"We always sell 350 tons of carp for daily consumption in West Java and Jakarta," he said.
The price, however, has dropped to between Rp 2,000 and Rp 4,000 from between Rp 5,000 and Rp 6,000 per kilogram.
He acknowledged that his office had received questions from consumers about the safety of the fish.
"The fish will remain safe despite the virus as long as it is cooked, by frying or boiling," Djunaidi said, adding that many of the people continued consuming fish following his explanation.
For the time being, the provincial husbandry office is attempting to eradicate the virus by asking fish farmers to clean their ponds and breed other types of fish, such as gurami and blue dye fish.
To keep virus-infected fish alive and marketable, Djunaidi suggested that farmers give the fish high doses of vitamin C.