The Indonesian government plans to establish a network of 136 villages dedicated to aquaculture by the end of this year, in a bid to spur the post-pandemic economic recovery by catering to global demand for farmed seafood. The country’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has announced that it has established six of these aquaculture villages and would add 130 more by the end of 2022. The villages will cultivate high-value aquaculture commodities, including shrimp, lobster, crab and seaweed.
Global aquaculture production grew by 527% from 1990 to 2018, with Indonesia among the top producers worldwide. The country’s aquaculture output in the third quarter of 2021 was 12.25 million tons metric tons, a 6% increase from the same period in 2020. The aquaculture sector contributed the equivalent of USD 1.94 million in non-tax state revenue for the year to November 2021, well above the target figure of USD 1.39 million.
Indonesia is a top global exporter of frozen seawater shrimps, with some top export species including Asian tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Its lags behind Thailand in exports of freshwater shrimp and fresh, salted or smoked shrimp. According to Mongabay, experts have welcomed the government’s push to boost the aquaculture sector, but say it must guarantee sustainable environmental planning, particularly in terms of land clearing and waste management for the farms.
(Source: Mongabay)
