By Windy Rizky

Lobster is one of the favorite seafood commodities for many people. Luckily, on January 8, 2015, WWF-Indonesia had the opportunity to see firsthand the packaging process of lobster commodities from PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Products. Located in Pangandaran, PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Products is famous for its "Susi Lobster" brand. The purpose of this visit is to collect data on lobster handling and packaging. Later, this data will be incorporated into the Lobster Better Management Practices (BMP) that is being compiled by the WWF-Indonesia team.

Lobster packing is not done every day, as it depends on the number of orders. In addition, in order to make the delivery more effective, the packaging must also wait for the lobsters to be collected first before being sent. Lobster packing, which is done in the early hours of the morning, starts with lifting the lobster from the holding tank. Then, the lobsters are made unconscious, dried, and arranged in a styrofoam box before being sent. During this process, the WWF-Indonesia team also had time to document data in the form of photos and videos.

Mr. Fuad Husen, as the representative of PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Products, admitted that currently, lobsters are becoming more difficult to obtain. In addition, the lobster business is also constrained by the size of lobsters which tend to be small. However, as a solution, he promotes environmentally friendly lobster fisheries practices. One of the steps to improve lobster fishery practices is by separating egg-laying lobsters into separate tanks. Lobsters found laying eggs will not be packaged, but will be returned to the sea later. In addition, the ""Susi Lobster"" company has long refused to accept lobsters below the minimum standard size of the catch.

The data that has been collected will be very useful for the preparation of Lobster BMPs. Not only for consumers and the environment, the Lobster BMP is expected to be useful for stakeholders, as a guideline to overcome problems in the lobster industry. In addition, PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Products is expected to be a pioneer in sustainable fisheries practices in Indonesia, especially for captured lobster commodities.