AQUATEC IS READY TO PROMOTE WHITE SNAPPER INDUSTRY IN INDONESISA

The role of the local people in promoting the cultivation of white snapper in Indonesia.
White snapper, a type of fish who gained the title of ‘Salmon of Asia’, has been considered as one of the main commodities in the fishery industry in Indonesia. Why is that? Because white snapper contains higher nutrition compared to salmon, and they have bigger market demand for local and export. The export market for fresh or frozen white snapper is currently open to USA, Europe, Australia, and Asia. That statement has been confirmed and supported by the Indonesian Aquaculture Community (MAI) who held a workshop with the theme “Building the National Barramundi Industry” in Jakarta on December 9th, as well as by the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (KKP) through the Directorate General of Cultivated Fisheries (DJPB) who is planning the development of fishery cultivation with the floating net (marine cage) method offshore or marine cage offshore in 2017 in three locations, which is Karimun Jawa (Central Java Province), Java Southern Sea, and Sabang (Aceh Province).
The purpose of developing marine cage Offshore is to increase the potential utilization of the fishery cultivation field in Indonesia, where currently, only about two percent of the ocean potential has been utilized for cultivation, and it has been dominated by clams (62%) and grouper fish (25%), while White Snapper production has only reached 8%.
The Director General of Cultivated Fisheries, Slamet Soebjakto, said there are five benefits from developing the marine cage Offshore, that is, to enlarge field utilization, to increase the production of cultivated fisheries, to increase the added value through processing, to inform the people regarding modernized technology in fishery cultivation, and to engage workforce and ultimately increase their income.
According to the statistics of fishery cultivation, temporary data of the production of White Snapper has reached 2,292 tons in 2015. The presence of marine cage Offshore is expected to give far more significant contribution in production compared to previous years.
The General Manager of PT. Gani Arta Dwitunggal (the producer of marine cage Aquatec), Andi J. Sunadim stated that Aquatec has been successful in supporting fishery cultivation of White Snapper in Indonesia for the past 10 years, and they are ready to support future government programs related with cultivation of White Snapper, by supplying locally made marine cage Offshores. Currently, his company owns durable floating net products which can withstand a 6 meters high wave, called marine cage heady duty.
As the No.1 marine cage supplier in Indonesia, marine cage Aquatec products has been used by many government-owned fisheries associations for the cultivation of White Snapper. Listed fisheries associations are Balai Perikana Budidaya Laut (BPBL) Batam, Balai Perikanan Budidaya Air Payau (BPBAP) Situbondo, dan Balai Besar Perikanan Budidaya Laut (BBPBL) Lampung for the cultivation of White Snapper.
According to the Head of BBPBL Lampung, Mimid Abdul Hamid, due to the mastery of cultivation technology, the potential market and cultivation of White Snapper is huge in Indonesia.
White Snapper can be cultivated with marine cage in beaches, culture ponds, and marine cage Offshore. According to Mimid, the potential of fishpond in Indonesia is huge, hence is very possible for White Snapper to become an alternative commodity for shrimp.
Seeing that the sea water in Indonesia is considered suitable to cultivate White Snapper, Mimid suggested that good quality control needs to be implemented on the usage of marine cage in order to maintain a safe and efficient cultivation process.
KJA Aquatec has been utilized in BBPBL Lampung since 2011. Mimid added, the usage of marine cage Aquatec is not limited to white snapper only, but also for cultivating other commodities such as Red Snapper, Humpback Grouper, Leopard Grouper, Pomfret Fish, Cobia, Giant Grouper and the Vanname Shrimp.
According to Mimid, the locally made marine cage products has many different types to choose from, depending on the location and environment, are made from eco-friendly materials, have high quality, can be detached and reassembled, and have the flexibility to withstand the ocean waves. One of the types, the submersible marine cage, which can be submerged and refloated, hence it is unaffected by any given weather conditions, has been installed in BBPBL Lampung.
In agreement with Mimid, Dony Prastowo who engineered BPBAP Situbondo also explained about the cultivation of White Snapper. According to him, the potential and market demand for White Snapper is really high because they provide a technology that can process cultivation from early stage to maturity.
Therefore, since the market demand for Grouper Fish is low, in order to diversify salt water fish, Dony encouraged the people to practice and develop the cultivation of White Snapper.
While cultivating White Snapper, it’s really important to watch the quality maintenance control, which is the marine cage. BPBAP Situbondo, said Dony, has already been using marine cage Aquatec to cultivate salt water fish like the White Snapper.
“We use marine cage Aquatec because it has been proven that the quality is eco-friendly, the assembly is easy to maintain, and it can withstand a wave with 3 meters high, and the westerly and easterly wind”, Said Dony.
Similar to Dony, The Development Coordinator KA BPBL Batam, Sahidan Muhlis, said that marine cage Aquatec is currently still at top in regards to quality and durability for cultivation compared to other similar marine cage HDPE.
Even until today, added Muhlis, Aquatec has been using innovative technology to improve their quality to become more advanced. Besides being eco-friendly, marine cage has to be user friendly and simple to maintain. “I hope the company doesn’t stop moving innovating and increasing after-sales customer service,” said Muhlis.
According to Muhlis, the local production for White Snapper is still limited. But the local production can increase dramatically if the government and stakeholders are serious in giving the attention to the market potentials.