INDONESIAN AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT Made L. Nurdjana Director General for Aquaculture, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Jl. Harsono RM No. 3, Rangunan, Pasar Mingu Jakarta, Indonesia ABSTRACT This paper describes the status of aquaculture development in Indonesia, and the importance of the subsector as an important component of Indonesian fisheries which contributes to the national food security, income and employment generation, and foreign exchange earnings. The paper also describes government organizations and support services to aquaculture, technological development in fish farm management and production of safe aquaculture foods, and emerging and future challenges face by the aquaculture industry. Operational policy and strategy for aquaculture financing were also discussed, as well as strategies for the future development of aquaculture. Key words: Indonesia, aquaculture, technological development CURRENT SITUATION OF AQUACULTURE The total national aquaculture production in IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY 2005 was 2.16 million tons. Aquaculture and inland water capture fisheries contributed 29.1 percent to Historical development the country’s total fish production. Total aquaculture of aquaculture in Indonesia production increased by about 20.14 percent per year from 1,076,750 tons in 2001 to 2,163,674 tons Aquaculture is an important component for in 2005 as a result of technological innovation, area Indonesian fisheries as it contributes to national of expansion and availability of suitable quality of food security, income and employment generation, fish seed. Aquaculture is practiced in fresh, brackish and foreign exchange earnings. Aquaculture has and marine waters using a variety of production played its role as an alternative source of income for facilities and methods. Culture systems range from coastal fishery communities. It has also contributed extensive to intensive depending on the seed in reducing the pressure on marine natural resources. stocking density, the level of inputs and the degree Recently, aquaculture development in Indonesia of management. The significant growth of the has been accelerated and is now considered as an aquaculture sector is the result of the high priority important sector in supporting rural economic given to aquaculture development since the 1980s, development. and this was in turn triggered by the greater demand Indonesia is an archipelagic country with a for food-fish, especially in the remote hinterlands, coastline of about 81,000 km, and has a vast and the imposition of a ban on trawl fishing in 1980. potential for aquaculture. At the national level, the extent of areas which has a potential for aquaculture Freshwater aquaculture development is estimated at 15.59 million hectares, composed of Freshwater aquaculture started with the stocking of 2.23 million ha of fresh water bodies, 1.22 million ha common carp in backyard ponds in West Java of brackish water areas and 12.14 million ha of during the Dutch occupation, in the middle of the marine areas. To date, only 10.1 percent of 19th century, and subsequently spread out to other freshwater, 40 percent of brackish-water and 0.01 parts of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi islands in the percent of marine areas potentially suitable for early 20th century. However, it was only in the late aquaculture are in use. 1970s that a remarkable increase in production from freshwater aquaculture was observed. This 56 was a result of the introduction of new farming production of 890,074 tons in 2005 (DGA, 2006), technologies which contributed to the availability of are highly valued and command good prices on the hatchery-produced seed, and the development of export market. compound feeds. The most common culture species are common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Nile tilapia Aquaculture Structure and Production (Oreochromis niloticus) and Gouramy (Osphronemus goramy). Common carp is the most The natural environmental conditions in Indonesia dominant species, with production comprising 3.5 are very conducive to the development of percent of the total freshwater aquaculture output. aquaculture. Extending from Sabang to Merauke, The rapid increase in the importance of common intersected by the equator, Indonesia is blessed carp followed the development of floating cage with a territory whose geophysical diversity is culture in the Citarum river system where a series of conducive to aquaculture. The relatively stable water reservoirs is located. Nile tilapia, which was first temperature typical of tropical areas enables introduced in Indonesia in 1969, is becoming aquaculture to be carried out throughout the year. important. The culture of ornamental freshwater fish The varied typology of the land and coastal areas has also been expanding, triggered by huge export enables the development of a wide variety of demand and strong government support. With the aquaculture commodities. Some areas which have outbreak of KHV (Koi herpes virus) disease affecting a climate with low precipitation, long hours of sunlight carp farming, many common carp hatchery, nursery and high light intensity, usually characterized by and grow-out farmers and operators have been barren lands, are actually particularly suitable for shifting to the production of ornamental fish species fish seed production. Groups of small islands around for the export market. larger islands can provide shelter from waves and be used as havens for the development of Brackishwater aquaculture development aquaculture. Culture of fish in brackishwater ponds, mostly on The geographical position of Indonesia gives Java Island, is an ancient tradition in Indonesia a comparative advantage, through being relatively which has been practiced on a subsistence basis for close to the world market. At present, there are four more than 400 years. In 1978, brackishwater pond major markets for fisheries products which are China, areas increased significantly with the successful Japan, United States and the European Union. Two development of the eyestalk ablation technique and of these are located in the Asia-Pacific, close to the rapid growth of shrimp hatcheries. Brackishwater Indonesia. The main markets for fisheries products pond areas were significantly expanded by the private in Asia are China and Japan. The development of sector in South Sumatera and Lampung Provinces newly industrialized nations in Asia such as South to develop large-scale pond culture using the Nucleus Korea, China/Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Estate System. Milkfish (Chanos chanos) and mullet Singapore and Malaysia offer market opportunities (Mugil spp.) were the traditional species reared. In for fishery products from Indonesia, and at the same terms of value, shrimps are the prime commodity, time offer opportunities for Indonesia to develop its contributing 80 percent to total brackishwater value. fisheries industry. However, due to outbreaks of white spot virus, it Extensive human resources, in terms of resulted in mass mortalities in ponds, particularly on numbers, are available to support the development tiger shrimp. To compensate for the production drop, of aquaculture businesses using low-cost manual Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus stylirostris, which processes. From a cultural perspective, Indonesian are more resistant to certain disease than the tiger communities have traditionally earned a living from shrimp, were introduced by the Government and are farming (agrarian) for generations, and are not now successfully cultured in East Java, Lampung unused to the husbandry of plants and animals. and Bali. These farming activities and the associated cultural habits have become part of their way of life for a large Mariculture development proportion of the Indonesian population, so that Mariculture commodity cultured in Indonesia varies. when people change to aquaculture as a livelihood It includes, for example finfish (seabass, groupers option, it does not usually take very long for them to and snappers), shellfish, seaweeds and other adapt. species, including sea cucumber. Mariculture 57 Aquaculture potential areas especially in Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku With a coastline of around 81,000 km, Indonesia and Papua, the extensive coral reefs and clear has extensive potential for mariculture development, waters have potential for developing the culture of although this potential is variable and unevenly seaweed, abalone, reef-associated fish and pearl spread across the Provinces. In Western Indonesia, oysters. In parts of the coastal waters of Sulawesi, rainfall in coastal zones is high, and the estuaries of Nusa Tenggara, Papua and Maluku, where the many major rivers tend to carry heavy suspended substrate is formed of sand and silt, and there are no sediment loads which result in muddy substrates, major estuaries, there is great potential for while the seabed tends to be formed of shallow developing seaweed and sea-cucumber (teripang) continental shelves which provide potential farming. Based on research by the Directorate locations for the culture of greasy grouper General of Aquaculture in the year 2004, it is (Epinephalus tauvina), barramundi (Lates estimated that Indonesia possesses an indicative calcarifer) and shellfish. In Eastern Indonesia, potential of 8.4 million hectares in extent, of which Table 1. Extent of potential mariculture development areas No Commodity Potential Extent (Ha) Indicative Effective 1 Fin Fish 812,000 8,000 2 Seaweed 770,000 385,000 3 Shellfish 4,720,000 2,350,000 4 Sea cucumber 175,000 88,000