BPBL Ambol have several achievements, one of which is gradually improving seed production of humpback grouper, brown-marbled grouper, and vannamei shrimp cultivation in floating marine cages. They have successfully become the best humpback grouper egg producer in Indonesia, hence ensuring sufficient supply to meet the demands within its territory. BPBL Ambon is also developing the cultivation of giant grouper, coral trout, and the addition of other marine collections, such as marine ornamental fish development and spawning of various marine ornamental fish that are nearly extinct. The achievements of BPBL Ambon have not only successfully developed consumable fish cultivation technologies but also ornamental fish cultivation.
 kerapu bebek |
 caranx fish |
Ambon has performed various engineering methods, some of which are fish seed production, seaweed, and the rearing of consumable fish. The result of such engineering has been implemented amongst the people through dissemination programs. All those programs are basically directed to become the base of policies in developing marine cultivation, especially within the Eastern Indonesia territory, and all Indonesia in general.
Indonesia has vast cultivatable marine fish with high economic value, such as giant trevally or caranx. This fish is one of the pelagic fish that can be cultivated inside floating marine cages. Giant trevally fish is a favorite among the people due to its savory flesh and high nutritional value. The price of this marine commodity is considerably high, and the price of pompano fish in the local market is quite stable.
BPBL Ambon has successfully developed cultivation technology of caranx or giant trevally fish. The time span for the nurturing and rearing of caranx or trevally fish is shorter (5 months) compared to other commodities, making this feasible for cultivation. The demand level of live trevally fish in Ambon is quite high, and is dominated by restaurants which could reach up to 400kg/week/ restaurant, with a selling price between IDR 60,000 – 70,000/kg. The high domestic demand for the seed of giant trevally or caranx also makes its cultivation prospect a very profitable one, and will also improve the economic welfare of the people.
 floating marine cages |
 rearing process of caranx fish in marine cage |
The caranx hatchery process begins with the selection of healthy parent fish with no defect. The ratio between male and female parent fish is 1:1. The parent fish to be spawned are transferred from Aquatec HDPE floating marine cages to the parent tub. They are then injected twice with hormones, and they will spawn.
During this process, the parent fish are given rough fish feed and some multivitamin. Eggs are harvested in the morning and hatched in indoor larva nurturing tub.
During the rearing process, caranx fish are placed inside HDPE floating marine cages. This rearing process in floating marine cages is done until the fish reach a size suitable for consumption (400-500gr). In this process, the risk of fish death relatively decreases, compared to nurturing and batching processes. This is because in the rearing process, the fish seed has larger body size, with higher adaptation level to the environment.
Fish cultivation, especially caranx fish, in floating marine cages is one of the businesses with good prospect to be developed in Indonesia, considering the vast marine and fishery potential. This condition is an opportunity that has to be utilized to improve the welfare of the coastal area communities, the fishermen, farmers, cultivators, and others involved in fishery businesses.
The success of caranx fish cultivation in floating marine cages is determined by several factors such as the seed quality, cultivation tool and facilities, location feasibility, capital, marketing, and human resources, as well as sufficient cultivation technical understanding. In addition, the supporting factors to the success of cultivation are the support from government, business world, and other technical agencies. Technically, rearing process is not that much different than the spawning process. However, there are several things which need proper attention during this step such as:
- Source for seed; to ease the rearing process of caranx fish in marine cage, it is recommended to obtain seeds from the hatchery in order to get have similar sizes, no defects, and large numbers.
- The distribution technique; before doing the seed distribution, nets and other tools must be prepared beforehand. The right time for distribution is in the morning or afternoon, to reduce the risk of stress on the seeds which could cause death. The optimum density for rearing phase is 50-75 fish/m3, with a 5 months rearing period until the fish reach a size suitable for consumption (400-500 grams).
Aside from the relatively short growth time, this fish also has high tolerance against environmental changes. Also, it is easy to obtain seeds from nature. Overall, the cultivation technique and care is simple, and it has high resistance against diseases.
In regards to caranx fish rearing process, it is important to use modern and environmentally friendly floating marine cages in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the cultivation, so that cultivation and rearing activities become more competitive, economic, and profitable as a business.
BPBL Ambon relies on Aquatec floating marine cages for fish cultivation due to the easy maintenance, which makes it cost and time efficient. In addition, Aquatec floating marine cage is durable and can withstand the waves. Aquatec floating marine cage uses Japan grade smooth knotless nets. With this knotless nets, the fish’s scales will not be harmed, hence increasing the Survival Rate (SR). BPBL Ambol recommends that cultivators use Aquatec floating marine cage not only because of its good quality, but also because it is a fully domestically made product.
BPBL Ambol, which has become the role model for Eastern Indonesia, has been developing caranx fish hatchery since 2012 and has achieved mass hatchery success in mid 2016. The caranx fish seeds produced by BPBL Ambon has been distributed to cultivator groups through seed distribution programs. The caranx fish seed from BPBL Ambon has high growth rate as well as considerably high Survival Rate.
BPBL Ambon
