Antara News·Indonesia·Monday, October 12, 2026 at 11:55 AM UTC

Indonesia enforces permanent ban on clear lobster seed exports

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Aria Ananda, Yashinta Difa

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has permanently banned the export of clear lobster seeds, reaffirming its commitment to direct all local seed harvesting toward domestic aquaculture and halt the illegal outflow of the lucrative marine resource.

"It remains halted forever—yes,” Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono confirmed during the launch of the Task Force for Eradicating the Outflow of Clear Lobster Seeds (Satgas P2BBL) in Jakarta on Monday.

The permanent ban is anchored in Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Regulation No. 5/2026—an amendment to Permen KP No. 7/2024—which restricts lobster seed harvesting strictly to regulated quotas for domestic farming.

Under the regulation, all grow-out operations must take place within Indonesian territory.

To enforce the ban, the government enacted Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 69/2026, establishing the Satgas P2BBL to crack down on rampant smuggling networks. The joint task force combines resources from multiple ministries, government agencies, and law enforcement authorities.

"The Ministerial Regulation is already in place... Now, there is Presidential Regulation 69. It is about eradication; it means it is absolutely prohibited," Trenggono said, adding that rigorous law enforcement is the government’s top priority to stop illegal trade.

While raw seed exports are outlawed, current regulations still allow foreign sales of fully farmed lobsters weighing at least 50 grams, provided they carry an official certificate of origin.

Foreign entities seeking access to Indonesian seeds will be required to negotiate direct, legal cooperation rather than relying on black-market channels.

"We will carry out cultivation here; that is the course of action we will pursue. So, if external parties still have a need for them, they must sit down and meet with us,” Trenggono noted.

Indonesia boasts a natural wild lobster seed population estimated at approximately 500 million annually. By shifting focus entirely to local cultivation, the government aims to capture higher added value within its domestic economy.

Under the ministry’s Directorate General of Aquaculture's Strategic Plan, Indonesia has set a target to produce 1,100 tons of farmed lobster by 2026.

This represents a significant scaling up from national production levels of 481 tons in 2024 and 437 tons in 2023.

Demonstrating the commercial viability of local grow-out projects, the ministry recorded the export of 339.5 kilograms of farmed lobsters from a pilot project in Batam, Riau Islands, to Singapore in September 2026.

Trenggono revealed that two years of bilateral talks with neighboring nations failed to curb the illegal trade, prompting Jakarta to pivot toward decisive internal enforcement rather than initiating talks with destination countries.

"We do not want to communicate just yet; that can wait. Let's focus on the domestic side first," he stated, noting that external parties requiring lobster seeds must formally negotiate legal cooperation mechanisms with Jakarta rather than accepting smuggled seeds.

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