Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is strengthening oversight against foreign companies supplying fresh fish products to Indonesia in accordance with Government Regulation Number 1 of 2026 on Food Safety.The Head of the Marine and Fishery Product Quality Control and Supervision Agency, Ishartini, affirmed that the agency has begun registering foreign companies as part of its role as the competent authority for the quality and safety of fishery products.”This ensures that fish-based food products entering Indonesia meet sanitation, hygiene, and food safety standards to protect consumers' health,” she said in a press release received in Jakarta on Monday.Ishartini explained that oversight is conducted through quality surveys, laboratory testing, and the registration of foreign companies supplying fresh fish products.She emphasized that only companies with a registration number issued by the ministry are permitted to trade fishery commodities in Indonesia.The number is issued after a stringent inspection by quality inspectors under a pre-border inspection scheme, ensuring that quality assurance is maintained from the point of origin until the product enters the national supply chain.She added that the ministry has identified foreign companies authorized to export fishery products to Indonesia through Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) with partner countries.She detailed that seven countries are currently part of the scheme: Vietnam (849 companies), South Korea (184), Saudi Arabia (1), Norway (42), Canada (24), Russia (11), and China (798).For countries that do not yet have an MRA with Indonesia, their products must undergo quality testing at designated laboratories before they can enter and circulate in the Indonesian market.While tightening oversight on imported products, Ishartini said Indonesia remains one of the world's largest net exporters of fishery products.Based on the ministry's records, from January to September 2025, fishery export volume reached 1,003,349.76 tons, valued at more than US$4 billion. Meanwhile, imports stood at 308,905.29 tons, worth US$463.55 million.