The Ministry Of Maritime Affairs And Fisheries Determines 20 Fish Species As Protected Animals, Including Kalimantan Arowana

Director General of Marine Spatial Management, TB Haeru Rahayu. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) issued a Decree of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Number 1 of 2021 concerning the Protection of Fish Species which stipulates 20 types of fin fish as protected species.

Reported by Antara, Wednesday, January 23, the Director General of Marine Spatial Management of the KKP TB Haeru Rahayu, who is familiarly called Tebe, explained that the determination of the protection status of 20 types of fish aims to maintain and guarantee the existence, availability and sustainability of fish species.

This was done, Tebe continued, by maintaining and improving the quality of value and diversity of fish resources and the environment in a sustainable manner.

The 20 types of fish include leopard river rays, giant river rays, white bank rays, Kalimantan arowana, Borneo belida, Sumatran belida, lopis belida, Javanese belida, balashark fish, and cave wader.

Apart from that, he said, are Batak fish, pasa, Maninjau strips, sharp saw rays, dwarf saw rays, big tooth saw rays, green saw rays, pari kai, sea king fish, and Irian arowana.

This determination is a follow-up to the separation of the Management Authority (MA) of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) for finfish species (pisces) from previously being in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) to switch authority management to the KKP.

"For that, the 20 types of fin fish that have been stipulated in the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation Number P.106 of 2018 concerning Protected Plant and Animal Types need to be re-established through a Decree of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries," he explained.

In the future, Tebe emphasized that with the stipulation of the protection status of 20 types of fish and the stipulation of the KKP as MA CITES for finfish species, his party will continue to strengthen the institutional aspects, supervision, conservation, breeding and quarantine of fish.

"We are not alone in carrying out this CITES mandate, of course sharing tasks and being supported by other work units, such as aspects of quarantine, cultivation, supervision, capture (capture) will be an integral part of its implementation in the future," said the Director General of Marine Space Management of the KKP.

Meanwhile, the Director of Conservation and Marine Biodiversity (KKHL) Andi Rusandi explained that the Irian arowana fish (Scleropages jardinii) has limited protected status, while for the other 19 species the status is fully protected.

Andi explained that what is meant by full protection is protection at all stages of the life cycle including body parts and their derivative products. While the protection status is limited to Irian arowana is protection based on a certain period of time and a certain size.

"For Irian arowana fish, the provisions are prohibited from catching all the time, except for tillers 3 cm to 5 cm in size can be caught in November, December, January, and February," said Andi.