Catalog

Fish Fix

Aquaculture holds potential to fill the gap left by declining fisheries in Indonesia

By Graham Dwyer (gdwyer@adb.org)
External Relations Specialist

A growing population and declining fisheries production have left Indonesia facing a widening gap between supply and demand for fish.

Fish provide two thirds of Indonesians’ animal protein. And with catches from marine fisheries in decline, aquaculture could dominate the fishing industry as a major source of sustenance, jobs, and export earnings.

To help the process along, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing an aquaculture project in Indonesia under a technical assistance (TA) grant of $800,000 to boost fish production and improve the livelihoods and nutrition of poor fish farmers in Indonesia.

The grant is financed by the Government of the United Kingdom.

“Because of its rich coastal resources and numerous inland water bodies, Indonesia has rich potential for aquaculture development,” says Weidong Zhou, an ADB Senior Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Specialist. “The TA will assess the state of aquaculture development, and identify the major problems, opportunities, and strategies to achieve sustainable growth in the industry.”

Three main types of aquaculture are practiced: freshwater, brackish water, and mariculture. Farmed species in freshwater systems are carp, tilapia, and gouramy. Brackish water culture has mainly milkfish and prawns. Mariculture operations use rafts, cages, and pens to cultivate species such as grouper, sea perch or barramundi, rabbit fish, seaweeds, and pearl oysters.

There are an estimated 2 million fish farmers in Indonesia, with half of them fishing on a small scale and in freshwater ponds. In 1997–2001, prawn exports averaged $800 million, contributing to half the value of all fishery products.

The aquaculture industry covers an area of about 681,000 hectares (ha). Yet this is less than 3% of the total potential area, which is estimated at 26 million ha, comprising coastal waters; rivers, lakes, ponds, and paddy fields; and brackishwater ponds.

The envisaged $50 million project, in the pipeline for 2004, would rehabilitate management systems for the traditionally cultured freshwater species and develop technologies for other high-value species such as eels and turtles.

Aquaculture is an important alternative livelihood source for poor rural communities

It would also improve management of traditionally cultured brackish-water and marine species and develop technologies for new species such as sea horses and wrasses.

Total aquaculture production in 2002 reached 1.14 million tons, half of which came from brackish-water ponds, accounting for 19% of total fishery production. Together with catch fisheries, the gross value of fisheries output was estimated to reach $5 billion in 2000, or about 5% of the output of the agriculture sector and 2% of the total economy.

But aquaculture growth has been hampered by several problems, notably environmental degradation, low growth, and productivity due to poor management, and lack of credit facilities for poor fish farmers and marketing infrastructure.

In 2002, poverty incidence in Indonesia was about 18% of the total population. The provinces of North and South Sumatra, West Java, West Nusa Tenggara, Lampung, and Southeast Sulawesi, the sites for the proposed TA study, account for one third of the rural poor.

As aquaculture is an important alternative livelihood source for poor rural communities, the Government in the last five years has been giving increased emphasis to fisheries and aquaculture development.

It aims to play a catalytic role in developing effective policies for better water management and financial provision for smallholders, and to harness the vast human resources potential, especially at the community level.

ADB, for its part, over the last two decades, has financed seven projects for aquaculture development in Indonesia, four of which are ongoing. However, earlier projects covered a limited coastal area and suffered difficulties in technology adaptation, lack of access to land and water resources, ineligibility for institutional credit, and aversion to risks.

“Lessons learned from previous projects highlight the need to promote an appropriate policy environment and a rigorous assessment of the capacities of executing and participating agencies to deliver support services to beneficiaries,” says Mr. Zhou. “The upcoming project will give more emphasis to reducing poverty and regional inequalities, ensuring food security, and promoting environmental management.”

The TA, to be carried out to June 2004, will involve potential beneficiaries and stakeholders in preparing the project and will identify strategies, approaches, and options to reduce poverty and enhance environmental protection.

The total cost of the TA is estimated at $1.12 million, of which the Government will contribute $320,000 equivalent.

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