While the current suspension on coral export in Indonesia effectively prohibits the export of coral in the island nation right now, this is unlike the ban on coral export as it is coming from Hawaii and Fiji. The coral farm industry in Indonesia is highly regulated in Indonesia and the current friction between different government agencies, specifically the ministry of forestry and the ministry of fisheries, resulted in a temporary stop of any marine life exports. There is an ongoing inquiry about future processing of exports of ornamental fish, coral and other marine life. AKKII is the trade association of coral, seashell and ornamental fish exporter in Indonesia is working currently with the government to come up with a resolution to the clerical dispute between the two agencies. The ministry of Fisheries is issuing health certificated which are needed for the transportation of marine life and the Forestry department is managing the CITES paperwork needed for in and export. there seems to be an inquiry going on how the export is handled in the future and which agency should gain control over the process.
It is understandable that many industry experts are warning about market shortage in the short term while other nations that previously have granted coral export permits are cutting back or suspending the marine life trading. Indonesia and specifically the location of the coral farming industry in Bali have a high yield in coral and will be able to resume operations once the situation is clarified and CITES permits will be issued again. A prolonged hiatus will have devastating effects on the industry and there are a lot of jobs at stake, locally in the ocean aquatic farms and packing facilities and internationally in the supply chain. Industry experts hope that the Indonesian Government will have the situation clarified before summer is over. We at Blue Star will keep you updated on the progress and will send our email notifications once we have an idea of the time lime when shipments can be scheduled again.