The Snub-nosed Pompano Will Become a Star

Cultivation optimization; proper and strategic utilization of facility and infrastructure

The Batam Marine Cultivated Fisheries Association (BPBL) has developed efficient and effective snub-nosed pompano fish production which makes it easy to apply among the community. Aside from the snub-nosed pompano being the main commodity, the Head of the Batam Marine Cultivated Fisheries Association, Drh. Toha Tusihadi, stated that the White Snapper and the Tiger Grouper are also considered as top commodities at BPBL Batam.

Speaking of Snub-nosed Pompano, this would be the first time for BPBL Batam to orbit this commodity. Toha said, BPBL Batam is the first association in Indonesia to have succeeded in spawning the snub-nosed pompano and is now able to produce brood-stocks which are then sent to Lampung, Kalimantan, even Ambon.

In accordance with Toha, the Coordinator of rearing in floating marine cages at BPBL Batam, Sahidan Muhlis, S. Pi, MP, said, “The first association to spawn the snub-nosed pompano is BPBL Batam. In addition, we have mastered a technology that even Malaysia does not, and therefore we can do produce them ourselves.”

“As of now, 90% of snub-nosed pompano seeds come from BPBL Batam. Nearly all seeds for snub-nosed pompano cultivation in Indonesia originate from BPBL Batam. The dominating seed produced in our association is the seed of snub-nosed pompano,” Toha said.

“As stated in BPBL Batam’s website, in order to constantly meet the demands of cultivators who are conducting the BPBL Batam program in regards to seed supplies, the Unit of Seeding at Batam Marine Cultivated Fisheries Association has conducted as many as 529,000 snub-nosed pompano larva harvesting.

The distribution is done in 4 tanks with a size of 6 m3 with population density of 15 fish / liter. From this distribution, 70,000 fish are expected to be harvested, with the seed size of 3-4 cm at 35 days old.

Aside from the purpose of distribution at BPBL Batam, the produced larva, approximately 200 thousand eggs, are also sent to another seeding unit, Beach Fish Seeds Association (BBIP), which is under the supervision of BPBL Batam.

Looking at such contribution, Toha extends his appreciation to the Seeding Unit Team under Ipong Adiguna, S.St.Pi. who made it happened.

“With this harvesting success, we hope the demands and support for the community, especially the cultivators under BPBL Batam’s supervision, will be fulfilled,” said Toha.

Moreover, Toha explained, the production of the White Snapper seed is also one of BPBL Batam’s expertise. Even, Toha added, BPBL Batam sends one-day-old White Snapper larva to Ambon, Lombok, Bali, and Karawang.

“Over there, they will seed it by utilizing the egg and larva from our place. So it is a long process. The seeds over there, might originate from the eggs over here,” he said.

Utilizing safe and convenient floating marine cages

Aside from the support from competent human resources, Toha said, another success factor in their fishery cultivation is the usage of high quality, safe, and convenient facility and infrastructure.

Within the scope of cultivation, that facility and infrastructure are the floating marine cages. Using high quality and environmentally friendly marine cage is a logical and realistic choice. Just like any other fishery associations, BPBL Batam chooses marine cage Aquatec to support the modern fishery cultivation.

Toha explained, BPBL Batam used to use wood marine cage, but it only lasted for 2-3 years. Now they use marine cage Aquatec because of it’s well known durability, which is still in prime condition even after 20 years of use.

Previously, Muhlis said, BPBL Batam used to use traditional marine cage holes made from woods. All those got swept by high tidal waves and were lost. They have also tried imported marine cage from different countries, but all those are already damaged and no longer usable.

Muhlis continued, since 2013 up to now, BPBL Batam has been using the locally manufactured marine cage Aquatec to fill 206 holes. “We choose marine cage Aquatec because of its durability, strong buoyancy, and because it is easy to work with and easy to maintain,” he added.

Just like Muhlis, Toha also agreed that marine cage Aquatec has advantages in terms of material strength and structure, longer durability, higher resistance against exposure to high waves, and easier to modify because of its design.

The harvest obtained from marine cage Aquatec usage is considerably good, Toha added. One of the most important thing is the convenience and safety of cultivation when standing on top of the marine cage. This product has been tested and proven to be able to withstand waves, and does not require too much repair, and therefore it makes their work more effective.

Optimization

At BPBL Batam, marine cage Aquatec is used for rearing purposes in order to prepare the brood-stock, such as the pompano, tiger grouper, and white snapper brood-stock, which will then be passed on to the brood-stock division.

This association knows well the quality of this marine cage which has the blue and yellow color trademark. This is shown from what Toha said, that BPBL Batam intends to keep optimizing the usage of existing marine cage.

Therefore, Toha said, they will create a cycle pattern for that optimization, so that those fish will always be readily available anytime for consumption. “We will have a program, for example, how many do we have to sow this month, and next month. Based on that program, there will be a certain target for each commodity such as the Snub-nosed Pompano, the White Snapper, and Grouper. Each of them can produce about 1-2 tons per month,” he added.

Such optimization will yield positive result; the combination of cultivation strategy and proper marine cage usage. The program was initiated in September 2016 and has obtained maximum result.

Nevertheless, the optimization does not end there. Muhlis stated that there has to be a broader market. That way, they will not rely solely on local market. With the number of existing cages and human resources, he believes obtaining 1-2 tons of harvest is not too difficult. The only problem is, the harvest is plenty, but the available market is limited, hence the harvest would go to waste.

“This is the storehouse of pompanos. We can produce as many as you want. But there has to be expansion in the marketing sector, not only locally, so that all the harvest can be utilized maximally,” said Muhlis. (Resti/Adi)