Jakarta – The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has actually declared Pieh Island in West Sumatra as a conservation area and migration route for sea mammals.
” Conservation of sea mammals’ environment and migration route has been established in some locations, including at the Marine Tourism Park (TWP), Pieh Island,” the ministry’s director general of marine spatial management, Aryo Hanggono, said in a statement here on Saturday.
Hanggono said Indonesia has at least 33 species of cetaceans (whales and dolphins), or over a third of the total cetacean types discovered in the world.
The infraorder Cetacea is a crucial element in the food chain, together with other significant predators, for this reason, any disruption in its population affects the whole food chain, he kept in mind.
” Thinking about these roles, we need to secure and preserve the existence of Cetacea, specifically in Indonesian waters,” he added.
The ministry has actually provided a ministerial policy (no. 79/2018) on the nationwide action plan for sea mammals in 2018-2022, which is aimed at securing sea mammals, preserving their stable population, and establishing sustainable financial benefit from the species.
Head of the National Marine Conservation Area (LKKPN), Fajar Kurniawan, said sea mammals in Pieh Island have actually become a focus of preservation, in addition to reef and turtles.
Information on sea mammal look in the last five years will be used as a basis for their management in the area, according to authorities. (INE)
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