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‘Sleeping giant’: More efforts needed to ‘wake up’ aquaculture potential
Many experts are currently zeroing in on aquaculture as a way forward for Indonesia’s fishery sector, as such a development would make the fishery sector more efficient in providing fishery products for domestic consumption and exports.
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Water world: A man feeds fish in an aqua cage built along the reservoir’s embankment. (JP/Arief Suhardiman)
W
endi, 25, said he could earn up to Rp 10 million (US$679.17) per month from farming one shrimp pond in his village at Serdang Bedagai, North Sumatra. He currently manages three ponds.
He said his current earnings were a stark contrast from his low earnings as a rice farmer five years ago. At the time, his friends taught him how to manage shrimp farms, which eventually led him to shrimp farming.
“Shrimp farming is decent because we can reap results every three months. I need to wait at least 7 months [to get results] from the rice harvest,” said Wendi, who plans to build a fourth pond soon.
Wendi is among other fisherfolk who have benefited from aquaculture – a fishing practice that involves breeding, rearing and harvesting of fish, prawns and other organisms in various water environments.
Read also: Maluku handline fishermen prove sustainable fishing can be profitable
Aquaculture has been gaining traction around the world. The contribution of aquaculture to the total production of aquatic animals from capture and aquaculture fisheries combined has risen steadily from 25.7 percent in 2000 to 46 percent in 2018, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data show.
In Indonesia, however, most fisherfolk still brave the open seas in small boats to fish in the morning and earn money on the same day from selling their catch, with Indonesian Fisheries and Community Foundation (MDPI) fisheries policy advisor Saut Tampubolon calling it the “cash-and-carry” culture.
