A joint team from the Maritime Affa

A joint team from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and Riau Islands provincial administration on Saturday released 304 lobsters back into their natural habitat on Hantu Island, Batam, Riau Islands.

The authorities said they released the lobsters as they belonged to a category Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti had prohibited from being caught and traded.

Batam-chapter Fish Quarantine Office head Ashari Syarief said quarantine officers confiscated the 304 lobsters during a security operation at Sekupang Port in Batam on April 7.

“The officers grew suspicious of three large cardboard boxes unloaded from a ferry arriving from Dumai, Riau. It was revealed that the boxes contained lobsters without proper documents. And after further examination, they found that the lobsters were prohibited from being caught and traded,” said Ashari.

According to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministerial Regulation (Permen) No.1/2015 on the catching of lobsters, crabs and rajungan (a kind of small crab), only lobsters with at least a 8 centimeter-long carapace are allowed to be caught and traded. Meanwhile, crabs and rajungan measuring less than 15 centimeters in length and 200 grams in weight are prohibited from being caught and traded.

“We have informed fishermen of the regulation and these [lobsters] are our first catch since issuing the regulation. We will release our catch back into their natural habitat; but, legal sanctions cannot yet be implemented for the time being,” said Ashari, adding that the regulation aimed to prevent the excessive export of lobsters, crabs and rajungan in certain categories.

Riau Islands Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency secretary Relawan Zai said Riau Islands was one of main producing areas of lobsters, crabs and rajungan in Indonesia as geographically, 96 percent of the islands were covered by water.

“The government does not prohibit but limits their trading. It is aimed at merely protecting lobsters from going extinct. If egg-bearing lobsters are allowed to be caught and traded, they will go extinct faster. We warmly welcome the government’s policy,” said Relawan.

Based on agency data, the potential production of lobsters, crabs, rajungan and shrimp in Riau Islands amounts to 4,402 tons per year with catching areas located in Anambas, Batam, Bintan, Karimun, Lingga, Natuna, and Tanjung Pinang.