Fish breeding center inaugurated in Batam

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.