Fish breeding center inaugurated in Batam

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Rokhmin Dahuri, inaugurated on Saturday a fish breeding center in Batam, Riau, in a bid to meet an increasing demand for fresh grouper (a type of fish) from Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as on the domestic market.

Minister Rokhmin said that the government expected that the center, which is equipped with sophisticated technology and laboratory, would boost the production of quality grouper.

Indonesia, he said, had failed to apply technology in its agriculture sector, leaving it one step behind many other developing countries.

"The demand for fresh grouper from Hong Kong and Singapore has been increasing. We hope that this center will be able to disseminate the technology involved in grouper breeding to the private sector so that we can raise both the quality and quantity of the grouper we produce," Rokhmin told The Jakarta Post.

Singapore imported some 3,400 tons of live grouper from Indonesia in 2000, and 7,750 tons in 2001, while the Hong Kong market imports 10,000 tons from Indonesia every year.

Both markets require tiger groupers (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus), with each fish weighing about two kilograms and worth between Rp 500,000 and Rp 750,000.

The Rp 20 billion fish breeding center, named the Loka Budidaya Laut, is located on Setoko Island, Batam. It stands on a 5.5-hectare site and consists of breeder sites, fingerling pools and laboratories, and is managed by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

At least 37 researchers will work in the breeding center, the construction of which was originally started in 1994. Its development then stalled until the government resurrected the project in 2002.

Apart from tiger groupers, it is also expected to focus on various other species of grouper, including rat groupers (Cromileptes altivelis), sunuk groupers (Plectropomus spp), mud groupers (Epinephelus tauvina) and white groupers (Lates calcalifer).

Separately, Batam Mayor Nyat Kadir said that the Batam administration had also developed a grouper breeding center on nearby Nguan Island with assistance from the technology and research ministry. The center had harvested some 500 tons of tiger grouper in November last year.

Recently, the maritime and fisheries ministry also inaugurated an ornamental fish farm in Cibinong, West Java, which is said to be the largest in the country.