Kotabaru inaugurates Hall of Fish Seed and Health

Acting Regent of Kotabaru M Syarifuddin inaugurates the Hall of Fish Seed and Health (BBKI) in Pulaulaut Sigam, Kotabaru. (Antaranews Kalsel/ohi/Kotabaru PR)

...Kotabaru has the potential for marine and fisheries with a beach length of 904 kilometers or 72 percent of the length of the coast of South Kalimantan.

Kotabaru, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Acting Kotabaru Regent Muhammad Syarifuddin opened a training on shrimp hatchery and organic pond and at the same time inaugurated the Hall of Fish Seed and Health (BBKI) on the Berangas road km 11, Tuesday.

He remarked that Kotabaru has the potential for marine and fisheries with a beach length of 904 kilometers or 72 percent of the length of the coast of South Kalimantan.

Along the coast, there are about 6.000 hectares of fish ponds growing and developing, with 1,500 fish farmers spread in 17 of 22 sub-districts (kecamatan) in Kotabaru. They mostly cultivate shrimps, milkfish, pomfret, and crab traditionally.

But they are facing the problems of difficulty in obtaining fry, low quality and availability of fry, expensive manufactured feed on the Kotabaru markets, fish ponds conditions do not meet technical standards for cultivation, limited technical and managerial ability of business actors.

For these reasons, he continued, the Kotabaru government through the Fishery Agency has coordinated with Bank Indonesia, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of Brackishwater Cultivation Fishery Center (BPBAP) from Takalar, South Sulawesi, to implement the Shrimp Seed independence Program through Optimization of the Kotabaru Hall of Fish Seed and Health.

The government also carried out the Independent Feed Program in cooperation with Pokdakan (fish cultivators group) Mutiara Biru, and Organic Fish Farming Training Program for Cahaya Benur Pokdakan of Pantai Village, Kelumpang Selatan Sub-district and Mandiri Pokdakan in Stagen Village, Pulau Laut Utara Sub-district.

“This training is expected to be able to solve the problems faced by farmers, so their production and shrimp ponds added value will increase in Kotabaru, which in turn able to contribute to the export supply of shrimp for South Kalimantan,” he said.