The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) through BKIPM has made a new breakthrough to accelerate the export of live fish from floating net cage aquaculture in Ambon City, Maluku. The head of the Ambon Fish Quarantine, Quality Control and Fishery Products Safety Agency (BKIPM) Muhammad Hatta Arisandi in Ambon, Sunday, said that for the first time in Indonesia the KKP handed over a certificate of Good Fish Quarantine Method (CKIB) for fish quarantine installations in floating net cages, namely for PT Rajawali Laut Timur which operates in the waters of Hunuth Village, Ambon Bay. As a result, the company was able to cut the time for obtaining fish health certificates from previously taking seven days to only one day. carried out in floating net cages. The CKIB certificate is very useful and facilitates the smooth running of the fishery business because it can cut the export service time from seven days to one day, it can even be only one hour," said Hatta.
Hatta explained that the new breakthrough was useful for shortening the process of managing live fish exports because there was control from the KIPM Fisheries Inspector on the fish health insurance system and the waters in floating net cage fish farming locations. Floating net cage entrepreneurs must also implement a quarantine system for sick fish, and if they meet the requirements, they will receive a Fish Quarantine Installation (IKI) certificate. With the consistent application of the system, he continued, business actors no longer need to send fish samples to be tested for health before export. In addition, by pocketing a guarantee in the form of a certificate, it can increase the bargaining power of fishery products to a wider market, especially when exporting. "Essentially this policy accelerates the export service process. The application of PT Rajawali's floating net cage CKIB is also a role model because it is the first time in Indonesia, so from other regions will learn to Ambon," said Hatta. Director of PT Rajawali Laut Timur Hasan, the breakthrough in the CKIB certificate is a breath of fresh air for the floating net cage fish farming business which has been sluggish due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are among the lucky ones to have survived this long, while many of our partners in the same business have given up. We are grateful to the agencies from the KKP and the KIPM Office for their support in technical supervision and guidance. There are many obstacles in the field, but we are always given fast service and solutions," said Hasan. After pocketing the CKIB and IKI certificates, he continued, PT Rajawali immediately exported 14,161 live groupers to Hong Kong with a value of around Rp. 4.1 billion. "After getting the CKIB certificate, it is hoped that our fish products will have higher competitiveness in the markets of export destination countries." "Based on KKP data, during 2021 Maluku fishery products will penetrate export markets to eight countries, namely Japan, China, the United States, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea. Leading commodities such as tuna have an export value of 12.68 million US dollars, and grouper fish of 1.5 million US dollars. PT Rajawali Laut Timur during 2021 will export 81,720 live groupers with a commodity value of IDR 18.9 billion. In the first quarter of 2022, PT Rajawali's grouper exports reached 31,661 individuals with a value of around IDR 7.7 billion and an increase in export volume of 60.5 percent compared to the same period in 2021, which reached 19,720 individuals with a value of IDR 6.9 billion.
