Socio-economic impacts on lobster fishery actors after the implementation of Regulation No 12/PERMEN-KP/2020

Abstract

The promulgation of Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Regulation Number 12/PERMEN-KP/2020 on Management of Lobster (Panulirus spp.), Mud Crab (Scylla spp.), and Blue Swimming Crab (Portunus spp.) in the Territorial waters of the Republic of Indonesia has implications for the management of lobster fisheries within the Indonesia’s Territorial Waters and Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs). This research aims to outline the current condition of lobster fisheries with the enactment of the ministerial regulation’s KP number 12/2020 on lobster fishery and to analyse the policy gaps regarding the implementation of lobster fisheries regulations. Data were collected within FMA 573 through a structured interview technique using a clustered questionnaire system and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with key informants. The impacts of the regulation were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively using a descriptive approach. The results indicate that the implementation of regulation No. 12/PERMEN-KP/2020 has not resulted in significant increases in income for lobster fishers and traders, in fact rather the reverse. The legalization of juvenile lobster capture has increased the supply, leading to a decrease in juvenile lobster prices. The price per lobster has fallen from IDR 6,000-10,000 to IDR 3,500-4,000, IDR17,500 to IDR 10,000-11,000 andIDR 27,500-30,000 to IDR 16,000-17,000 for fishermen, middlemen and exporters, respectively. The positive impacts on lobster fishers were an increased sense of security since it is no longer illegal to catch and trade juvenile lobsters.