December 14, 2023

 

Indonesian minister urges joint research efforts focused on affordable aquafeed 

 

Indonesia's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, has called upon the country's fishery service offices to work with universities to conduct research on affordable aquafeed.

 

"We have just been able to grow, but it is inefficient. Why? Because 100% of the feed is still imported," Trenggono said during a national coordination meeting in Bali last week.

 

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has identified shrimp, seaweed, lobster, crab and Nile tilapia as key commodities for the aquaculture sector.

 

Trenggono said that the value of the global seafood market in 2021 was estimated at US$310.75 billion and it was projected to increase to US$730.28 billion by 2030. He gave the example of one company in China which dominates the shrimp market share, reaching 220,000 tonnes in one year.

 

Trenggono added that the company is collaborating with research institutions in the development of feed and broodstock, whose production has reached millions of units. As such, he urged all fishery service offices to work with universities to conduct the research.

 

To support productivity, the ministry has undertaken a pilot project for an area-based integrated shrimp pond with an annual productivity of 80 tonnes per hectare, as carried out in Kebumen, Central Java, over an area of 60 hectares.

 

Indonesia has the potential to cultivate 17.91 million hectares, including 2.96 million hectares of brackish water, 2.83 million hectares of fresh water and 12.12 million hectares of seawater, according to the ministry.

 

Currently, only around 6% of the total potential is being utilised on average.

 

Trenggono also underscored the need to pursue the global market potential as well as implement the blue economy to strike an ecological and economic balance.

- Antara