Previously banned for export, the current Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Edhy Prabowo, plans to allow lobster seeds export. (Image via Tempo English)

About the lobster export plan, Jokowi orders Prabowo to be mindful

Indonesia’s Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Edhy Prabowo, admitted that he got an “advice” from the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, generally known as “Jokowi”, regarding his plan to revoke lobster seeds export ban.

In recent weeks, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister took the spotlight when he announced that he would lift off the export ban, previously imposed by the previous Minister, Susi Pudjiastuti. Edhy even said that the export ban makes Indonesian people drown in “starvation”.

The former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister, Susi rejected the ideas of exporting the lobster seed and growing the lobster seed locally. For Susi, the seed should be nurtured by Nature.

Speaking on Wednesday, Edhy said that the President advised him to act wisely; for him, the order and instructions are already crystal clear.

Despite the controversy, Edhy said that the lifting of the lobster seeds export ban is not meant to exploit Indonesia’s maritime richness. In fact, the decision is meant to sustain.

The Minister said that it is not “his style” to do things for his own benefit.

Furthermore, Edhy urged Indonesian people to see the decision not from one perspective only because the lifting of the export ban is only one of many regulations trying to be improved during his term.

He convinced that the decision will benefit Indonesian people as well. The Minister revealed that there are other parties who illicitly collect the lobster seeds. From 27 million lobster seeds spread throughout the Indonesian sea, Edhy aims to minimalize the loss due to the illegal lobster seeds collecting.

Regarding the concern that the lobster will go extinct, Edhy already thought of a solution by returning 2.5 to 5 percent of the lobsters to its habitat in the sea to preserve its lifecycle. However, the idea is still under review.

In the end, Edhy asked Indonesian people to join him in the campaign to preserve and grow the lobster from seeding to growing these lobsters.

Source: https://bit.ly/2PXbnu0