Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service of Lampung Province noted that in 2022 yesterday the export value of crab meat from the local area reached 1,019 tons with a value of IDR 418 billion.

Head of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service of Lampung Province, Liza Derni said, crab commodity was in the second position with the highest fishery export value after shrimp. Meanwhile, the export destination country for crab meat is the United States.

"Rabbit has a commodity value of IDR 409,982 per kilogram. This value is relatively higher than other commodities, because blue swimming crabs are exported in canned ready-to-eat form," said Liza, during a meeting of the implementing committee for the sustainable crab fisheries management committee which took place at the Horison Hotel. Tuesday, 21 February 2023.

Liza explained, currently Lampung Province has an Initiative for Sustainable Management of Crab Fisheries which is being implemented in three regencies consisting of Tulang Bawang Regency, Central Lampung Regency and East Lampung Regency.

"This aims to create crab management at the right scale. Starting from improving the health of the ecosystem and crab stock while increasing the social and economic welfare of stakeholders along the supply chain," said Liza.

Liza also explained, the Sustainable Crab Fishery Management Initiative has involved more than 4,000 fishermen, 1,000 workers in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, collecting and minipan crabs, as well as five crab exporting Fish Processing Units with more than 1,000 workers.

"Rajung itself is seasonal so it doesn't always exist in Lampung. Sometimes fishermen also get it in Bengkulu, so the cycle is once every six months. So we continue to encourage fishermen to take crabs in an environmentally friendly manner," he explained.

According to him, environmentally friendly crab fishing is using fishing gear such as traps and nets. Apart from that, in terms of processing, they must also have a Management Certificate with standards for export.

"We are also building for the application of blue economy or environmentally friendly. So these unused crab shells can be made into crackers or flour. So really no waste is produced," he said.

Meanwhile, Assistant II for Economic Affairs and Development of the Lampung Provincial Government, Kusnardi explained, Lampung's eastern coastal waters are one of the potential natural crab producers in Indonesia.

Efforts to manage sustainable crab fisheries which aim to increase production, export value and sustainability will have a significant impact on the fishermen's economy. The blue swimming crab fishery has supported the livelihoods of more than 4,000 fishermen.

"But on the other hand, crab resource stocks are increasingly experiencing high pressure from various sources. Such as excessive fishing waste and the use of fishing gear that is not environmentally friendly," he said.

He explained that currently Lampung Province already has a Sustainable Crab Fishery Management Initiative which is expected to improve the quality and quantity of crabs, sustainably preserve them and increase crab stocks in Lampung waters.