West Papua Quarantine Authority Releases Nine Egg-Bearing Lobsters in Manokwari Waters

Manokwari — The Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Centre (BKHIT) of West Papua Province released nine egg-bearing lobsters in Manokwari waters as an effort to maintain the sustainability of the marine resource population, which possesses high economic value.

The Head of the Fish Quarantine Working Team at BKHIT West Papua, Irwan, stated in Manokwari on Saturday that the shipment of lobsters in egg-bearing condition violated the provisions of Article 8 of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Regulation No. 7 of 2024.

“There are several provisions governing the transport of lobsters, one of which is that they cannot be in egg-bearing condition and must weigh a minimum of 150 grams,” said Irwan.

He explained that the nine egg-bearing lobsters were discovered by BKHIT officers during routine inspection of fisheries commodities that were to be transported through Rendani Airport in Manokwari to Jakarta.

Officers then took action by detaining the lobsters, and after confirming they were alive, the nine lobsters were immediately released into Manokwari waters as a demonstration of the commitment to marine biodiversity conservation.

“The business operator who owned the lobsters actually already had a licence, but nine of them were in egg-bearing condition,” said Irwan.

The agency, he said, has issued warnings and cautions to the relevant business operator to prevent repeating such actions in all lobster and crab transport activities outside the region.

Enhanced supervision through airports and seaports throughout West Papua aims to ensure that the transport of animals, fish and plants is conducted in accordance with applicable regulations.

“According to our records, almost 90 per cent of animal, fish and plant transport originates from West Papua to other provinces. Therefore, we continue to tighten supervision,” stated Irwan.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Law Enforcement Team at BKHIT West Papua, Aldri Sakti Sirandan, explained that the release of egg-bearing lobsters was first coordinated with officers from the Marine and Fisheries Resource Surveillance Service (PSDKP) in Biak.

The action by BKHIT officers to detain the nine egg-bearing lobsters is also in accordance with the authority of quarantine officials as regulated in Article 32 of Law No. 21 of 2019.

“We coordinated with PSDKP because the regulations are largely governed by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP),” said Aldri.