The ministry's Director General of Aquaculture, Tb. Haeru Rahayu, said that the ministry had conducted a preliminary assessment of the affected areas and cultivators by coordinating with regional governments and the ministry's technical implementation units (UPTs).
"The aquaculture areas from Aceh to West Sumatra total nearly 41,000 hectares," he said after a press conference on the performance of the marine and fisheries sector in Jakarta on Monday.
Rahayu explained that the most extensively affected region was Aceh, where the affected aquaculture area reached approximately 38,875 to 40,000 hectares across 16 districts and cities.
Furthermore, in North Sumatra, the disaster affected around 562 hectares of aquaculture area across 11 districts and cities, while in West Sumatra, approximately 255.9 hectares of affected aquaculture area were recorded in 11 districts and cities.
"In Aceh, the number of affected cultivators reached 31,944 people, grouped into 1,051 clusters," he stated.
According to him, the damage was not limited to pond plots but also included irrigation canals, sluice gates, ponds, and aquaculture support networks, including electricity in several production centers.
For the initial response, the ministry has formed the Disaster Response Task Force involving regional governments to ensure a rapid response on the ground.
He further said that the recovery scheme currently being prepared focuses on the rehabilitation of the aquaculture area and the provision of assistance to cultivators, while relocation is still continuously reviewed as an option.
He noted that after discussions with regional governments, the most feasible options are carrying out rehabilitation and providing aid.
Based on initial calculations, the estimated budget needed for the recovery of aquaculture in the three provinces reaches approximately Rp5.4 trillion (around US$323.9 million), with the largest portion allocated to Aceh.
He asserted that his ministry is striving to ensure the recovery proceeds as quickly as possible so that aquaculture activities can resume and do not impede the performance of cultivators in the affected regions.
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Translator: Aria Ananda, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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