P.O. Box 1390, Skulagata 4 120 Reykjavik, Iceland Final Project 2005 MUSSEL FARMING IN THE STATE OF SARAWAK, MALAYSIA: A FEASIBILITY STUDY Kusuadi bin Sallih Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) State of Sarawak Branch P.O. Box 2201, 93744 Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia [email protected] Supervisor Jón Þórðarson [email protected] ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify whether it is possible to grow green mussel in the state of Sarawak based on the evaluation of available biophysical parameters, economic and market opportunities. Site suitability rating systems are developed to assess the environmental parameters of the sites. The biophysical parameters such as salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, water current and depth of the site in three rivers including Sungai Santubong, Sungai Gerigat and Sungai Oya were collected from secondary data, rated and finally categorised. The profitability model of raft and long line culture methods was considered in this study based on assumptions and data collection by reviewing printed and electronic articles from research publications. Investment indicators net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and sensitivity analysis on sale price, cost of seeds and harvest weight are determined. The biophysical evaluation results shows that Sungai Santubong is categorised as „good‟ whereas Sungai Gerigat and Sungai Oya are categorised as „medium‟ sites for growing green mussel. Profitability models for both culture methods indicate a positive NPV and acceptable IRR. However, the model is highly sensitive to changes in sales prices and harvest weights. The long line culture requires less capital investment than raft culture. UNU Fisheries Training Programme Sallih.K TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 5 2 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................ 7 2.1 World mussel production ...............................................................................................................7 2.2 Green mussel farming in Malaysia ................................................................................................8 2.3 Biology of the green mussel, Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) ........................................................9 2.4 Culture aspects of green mussels ................................................................................................. 11 2.4.1 Site selection for green mussel culture ....................................................................................... 12 2.4.2 Culture methods ......................................................................................................................... 15 2.4.2.1 On-bottom culture ............................................................................................................. 15 2.4.2.2 Off-bottom culture ............................................................................................................ 15 3 METHODS ............................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Data collection and main assumptions ........................................................................................ 17 3.1.1 Biophysical evaluation ............................................................................................................... 17 3.1.2 Green mussel culture technology ............................................................................................... 19 3.1.3 Culture operation ........................................................................................................................ 21 4 SITE SUITABILITY OF GREEN MUSSEL FARMING IN SARAWAK ............. 22 4.1 Coastal environment in the state of Sarawak ............................................................................. 22 4.2 Biophysical evaluation of the site ................................................................................................. 23 5 ECONOMIC MODEL FOR MUSSEL FARMING ................................................. 25 5.1 Production cycle of a 50 unit raft model production system ..................................................... 25 5.2 Production cycle of 50 lines of the long line model production system ..................................... 26 5.3 Sensitivity analysis ........................................................................................................................ 26 6 MARKETING ........................................................................................................... 30 6.1 Domestic market for mussels ........................................................................................................ 30 6.2 Regional trade ................................................................................................................................ 30 7 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................... 31 8 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 33 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 34 LIST OF REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 35 APPENDIX I .................................................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX II ................................................................................................................... 39 APPENDIX III .................................................................................................................. 41 APPENDIX IV .................................................................................................................. 42 APPENDIX V ................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX VI .................................................................................................................. 44 UNU-Fisheries Training Programme 2 Sallih.K LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Geographical location of the state of Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia (World factbook 2002). ....................................................................................................... 6 Figure 2: Estimated world production of mussels of all types in the period 1950-2003 (FAO 2005). ........................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 3: Production trends of green mussel in Malaysia 1986 – 2003 (FAO 2005). ....... 9 Figure 4: Mussel feeding and respiration (Aquascope 2000). ......................................... 11 Figure 5: List of primary and secondary factors, which require consideration when selecting sites for mollusc culture (modified from Lotavelli 1988). ................................ 12 Figure 6: Diagrammatic representation of various culture methods (Gunnarsson et al. 2005). ................................................................................................................................ 16 Figure 7: NPV of green mussel farming using the raft culture method. .......................... 27 Figure 8: NPV of green mussel farming using the long line culture method. ................. 27 Figure 9: IRR of green mussel farming using the raft culture method. ........................... 28 Figure 10: IRR of green mussel farming using the long line culture method. .................. 28 Figure 11: Sensitivity analysis of sale price, harvest weight and cost of seed using the raft method. ....................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 12: Sensitivity analysis of sale price, harvest weight and cost of seed using the long line method. .............................................................................................................. 29 UNU-Fisheries Training Programme 3 Sallih.K LIST OF TABLES Table 1: World mussel production in 1993 and 2003 (FAO 2005) showing an increase by countries (modified from Spencer 2002). ...................................................................... 8 Table 2: The assumption weighted value is given to biophysical parameters based on the degree of importance. ........................................................................................................ 18 Table 3: Assumptions of rating points for the range of physical parameters for mussel farming based on gathered information from (Sivalingam 1977), (Lovatelli 1988), (Hickman 1989), ( Aypa 1990), and (FIGIS 2005). ........................................................ 19 Table 4: The category of the site based on assumed weight (modified from Kingzett and Salmon 2002). ................................................................................................................... 19 Table 5:The main assumptions used in the development of a production schedule for a green mussel farm in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. ...................................................... 20 Table 6: Estimated financial outlay for culture of green mussel P. viridis in raft and long line culture methods. ........................................................................................................