Government bans exports of Java fish

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.