At a visit to the Freshwater Aquaculture Fisheries Center (BPBAT) Tatelu, in North Sulawesi this week, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Edhy Prabowo extolled the advantages of Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS), saying it could be the answer to the country-wide shortage of high quality seed.
Freshwater aquaculture in Indonesia, especially tilapia, catfish, catfish and carp in 2019 was expected to reach 76,321 tons. Minister Edhy said that freshwater aquaculture production in Tatelu is among the largest in the country, as it has good water quality and high enthusiasm within the community for fish farming.
"In aquaculture, a problem that arises, besides the price of feed, is the availability of superior fry. RAS technology at BPBAT Tatelu is the answer to the lack of superior seed for Eastern Indonesia. At present, Tatelu has been serving the needs of almost all of North Sulawesi, even some regions outside Sulawesi such as Ambon," Minister Edhy said.
Edhy said he realizes that the current price of fry is still quite high in several regions, mainly because of the distance of delivery and uneven availability. "This situation can be overcome by increasing the use of RAS technology throughout Indonesia, especially in aquaculture production centers. If this can be realized, in the future I hope the fry will be given free of charge to people who want to carry out cultivation activities," continued Edhy.
In line with Minister Edhy, North Sulawesi Governor, Olly Dondokambey, who also attended the event expressed his readiness to support the government's program to advance aquaculture. "Especially for the problem of feed, we have collaborated with the private sector to develop the fish and livestock feed industry in North Sulawesi. The private sector has conducted a feasibility study to build this industry in Bolaang Mongondow, starting by building a silo to accommodate corn and other feed ingredients," Olly explained.
Currently, BPBAT Tatelu is also in the process of engineering the expansion of fish with RAS technology. The results of this engineering are expected to produce production output increased by more than 10 times. With the flexibility of RAS technology that can be applied to various types of commodities both fresh, brackish and marine, KKP through the Directorate General of Aquaculture is ready to be able to reproduce this technology throughout Indonesia.
