A barramundi farming project using recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) technology between Norway’s Sterner AS and its partners in Indonesia remains at an early stage, but is progressing, according to the company.
“The project is still in its early pre-engineering phase where we investigate the potential cooperation, participation, and supply from local Indonesian parties and sources,” a representative from Sterner told SeafoodSource on Friday, 21 February.
In October 2019, Sterner signed an agreement with a consortium of Indonesian firms led by PT El Rose Brothers to jointly develop a barramundi-farming business in the country using RAS technology. The companies planned to build a RAS facility in the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta in 2020, with a target of producing 2,500 metric tons (MT) of the fish in the first stage, Antara News reported.
The Sterner AS representative told SeafoodSource the companies need to find solutions for some strategic clarifications before giving more updates on the progress of the project.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said it has seen promising outcomes from using RAS technology to produce fish seed in Indonesia, news agency Antara News reported 19 February, without naming any particular project.
"The technology can increase stocking densities by up to seven times compared to conventional systems," Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Edhy Prabowo was quoted as saying.
RAS-based aquaculture projects will help reduce maintenance periods, boost survival rates to 95 percent and increase the uniform of fish seed to 90 percent. The technology may lift fish hatchery productivity by about 140 times from conventional methods.
Prabowo said that the application of the technology is expected to address the shortage of fish seed across Indonesia. Fish seed prices have reached record highs in a number of areas.
"This condition 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 seeds will be given free of charge to people who want to carry out cultivation activities," the minister said.
Prabowo said he hoped to ramp up the country’s fish production by allowing more farmers access to RAS technology. The ministry’s Director General of Aquaculture Slamet Soebjakto called RAS "an environmentally friendly solution to hatchery production" and said he believed a wider use of RAS will help reduce the use of water and land.
Photo courtesy of Karl Timmer/Shutterstock
