Indonesia Looks to Revive Lobster Exports

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries aims to diversify the country's export portfolio to include lobsters.

According to Minister of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Edhy Prabowo, lobsters in Indonesia can produce approximately 27 billion lobster eggs, known locally as benur.

The calculation is based on the assumption that one lobster is able to produce 500,000 eggs.

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Basing his claim on research conducted in Australia, Edhy said that one million lobster eggs can be produced per lobster.

“An expert professor calculated that one lobster can produce 1 million eggs. Lobsters can produce eggs four times in which the mating season lasts around four months. This entails that lobsters in Indonesia can produce eggs year-round,” said Edhy Prabowo.

The egg production of lobsters in Indonesia is an opportunity to take advantage of, he said.

Based on Edhy’s assessment, the survival rate of lobster eggs in the wild is only 0.02 percent. Thus, for every 20,000 lobster eggs, only one egg will reach maturity.

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Depending on the cultivation mechanism, the survival rate of lobsters can reach between 30 and 70 percent if it is farmed.

The survival rate of lobsters in floating net cages is 30 percent.

The percentage would increase to 80 percent survival rate if the cages are placed deeper into the ocean.

“Now the choice is whether we allow nature do its job or are we going to rethink the cultivation process to increase yield? We have plenty of successful experiences cultivating fish,” said Edhy.

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To prevent the lobster eggs from being wiped out, the Minister has made it mandatory for exporters to release 2 percent of the caught lobsters into the wild.