Jambi`s catfish breeders facing gloomy business

Antara News, Andi Abdussalam, Sunday, October 17, 2010 22:58 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Once enjoying a booming income, most of patin catfish (pangasius sp) breeders in Tangkit Baru village, Muarojambi district, Jambi province, have abandoned their ponds because fish breeding is no longer promising.

After all most breeds have often suffered losses as prices of fish meals continue to increase.

"I think patin catfish breeding business is now in the stage of NDE (near-death experience) experience. More than 60 percent of the 1,400 fish ponds of various sizes in this village are now idle as they are abandoned by their owners," Bs Intang, a villager who cultivates 8 plots of ponds, said.

As many fish breeders stopped cultivating their ponds, the catfish production of Tangkit Baru, a catfish producing village in Muarojambi district, has dropped drastically. "We used to produce some 10 tons catfish per day. But now, I think production is only about one to two tons per day," Bs Intang said.

In response to the present conditions breeders are divided to two pessimistic and optimistic groups. "We simply have to change business. There is no more hope. The trend is that production cost continues to increase while profit margin continue to drop.

If you don`t stop you will loose," Abdullatif, another breeder whose ponds were affected by a flood recently, said.

Others switch to other kind of fish. "I stop cultivating patin fish for the time being. I now

breed `gurame` fish which still a has good prospect. But we must be patient because we have to wait for about one year before it could be harvested," Harun, who is planning to increase the number of his ponds to 20 plots, said.

According to Bs Intang, most of breeders who could survive in running fish ponds are those who produce their own fish meals. "They basically get profit from the fish foods they are producing," Intang said.

Owing to the fact that production cost is higher than the yield, the fish production of Tangkit Baru dropped from about 10 tons per day to only one to two tons. Tangkit Baru village is only one of the catfish production centers in Muarojambi district. Jambi province has been declared as one of national catfish production centers.

Unluckily, Muarojambi`s proction has dropped of late. Head of Muarojambi`s Animal Husbandry and Fishery Service, Mulyadi said recently Muarojambi in the past several years produced some 40 tons of catfish per day but it had dropped now because breeders could not market their products.

When production was booming, market could not absorb it while production cost was increasing. "So, what to do with the fish," Mulyadi said.

In an effort to help fish breeders, Jamb`s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Service (DKP) is doing its best to increase the quality of patin catfish so that it would be able to compete in the market. So far, catfish production in Jambi is still marketed in the form fresh fish in traditional market.

While modern market still give priority to processed fish produced by large scale industry at home and abroad.

Head of Jambi`s DKP Herman Suheraman said that there had been processed fish production by home industry in Jambi but it could not yet compete in the modern market.

"There are three kinds of processed patin fish products which are the output of cottage industry in Jambi, namely patin `abon` (boiled and fried shredded catfish meat), patin chips and patin jelly," Herman said.

He said that the catfish cottage industry which was centered in Tangkit Baru village was not yet able to penetrate supermakets. There fore, the DKP would continue to develop the catfish home industry so that the three diversified processed products would be able to compete with those of large scale industry.

Herman said that the rapid growth of patin culture, both by pond and floating cage systems, caused over production and drove price down. So, one of the way that could be taken to safeguard fish farmers and to increase the added value of their products is to process the fish into a semi-finished products which are ready for consumption.

"However, marketing is still a problem, though it is already diversified," Herman said.

He said that the DKP through the trade service continues to approach supermarket owners so that they were prepared to help sell the home made fish products. It has also cooperated with an expert from Thailand in an effort to increase the quality.

"We actually hope that the processed catfish would be marketed in the local market in order to improve the people`s nutritional intake," Herman Suherman.

In order to increase the local people`s nutritional intake, the DKP is allocating a fund of Rp4.6 billion for the development of patin fish in five districts in Jambi.

Herman said that the funds were obtained from the state budget. "Five districts will become the target of patin fish culture as part of the efforts to improve the welfare of breeders," he said.

In this case, Maurojambi district which had been appointed one of the patin fish production centers, has prepared 24 thousand hectares for fish culture, patin fish in particular.

"This region has a very high potential vast land to help intensify this project, for which we have prepared 24,000 ha of fishery land," Muarojambi district head H Burhanudin Mahir said sometime ago.

Jambi province`s fish production increased 6.4 percent to 75.95 thousand tons in 2009 from 70.73 thousand tons in 2008. The increase in production is in line with the increase in the per capita consumption which was up 3.81 percent from 25.97 kg per annum in 2008 to 27. 0 per kg in 2009

Unusual behaviour a pre-earthquake phenomena?

TVNZ, Thursday September 16, 2010

It sounds like the stuff of myth and legend, but there are plenty of scientific studies and research about strange phenomena that occur before an earthquake.

Source: Reuters

In Asian countries where earthquakes occur frequently, folklore of legends about earthquake precursor phenomena are abundant.

The old Japanese legend of the earthquake cat fish is one of them. It tells of a large cat fish living underground that causes earthquakes whenever it moves.

Studies recall cat fish violently jumping and twisting out of the water before an earthquake strikes.

Dr Neil Whitehead, one of the world's leading scientists on pre-earthquake phenomena told TV ONE's Close Up that cat fish are very sensitive to very low frequency electromagnetic waves, and that this may create unusual behaviour.

Catfish, locally called `lele`

"Normally cat fish lurk by a bank," he said, but if there were earthquakes, "they go berserk".

He also said changes in weather, water levels, strange animal behaviour and strange electrical movements, such as clocks ticking backwards, have been recorded before an earthquake.

"It could be explained by physical principals."

Whitehead is calling for Canterbury residents to submit their own stories of strange pre-earthquake phenomena on his website.

Related Articles:

Toads can 'predict earthquakes' and seismic activity

Catfish getting national `recognition`

Sandra interviews Pepper Lewis and Gaia (Mother Earth) Apr 2010

Catfish getting national `recognition`

Antara News, By Andi Abdussalam, Saturday, June 19, 2010 23:06 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - At least two tons of catfish were unloaded at the east parking lot of the Jakarta Senayan Sports Stadium this weekend, not to feed football match spectators but to get `recognition` as one of the country`s food resilience commodities.

Catfish, locally called `lele` is a very popular dish served in various food stalls beginning from roadside food tents to luxury restaurants.

Affordable by the lower segment of society, the most popular type of this fish dish is "pecel lele," or fried lele served with chilli sauce and vegetables.

As if coming out of the blue, people flocked to the Senayan parking lot on Saturday where different kinds of lele were displayed or served like boiled and fried lele shredded meat and pecel lele.

People came to the parking lot as it was the venue of a "Grand Catfish Festival 2010". No less than First Lady Ani Yudhoyono also attended the festivity.

When she inaugurated the event, she declared catfish as one of the country`s food resilience commodities, calling on people to eat the protein-rich fish and encourage the cultivation of the fresh water fish.

"I have one grandchild and I want to teach her to eat lele when she has reached the age of five years," she said.

At the inauguration of the "Grand Catfish Festival 2010," the First Lady said the food resilience program should not be measured from carbohydrate content only but also from the availability of protein content, and catfish was rich in protein.

Catfish, according to Ani Yudhoyono, not only contained 17 percent protein but was also low in cholesterol, had a delicious flavor. "Catfish prices are low making it affordable by common people. Lele or catfish is one of the country`s food resilience commodities," Ani said.

To enliven the catfish festival, a total of 37 stalls of `pecel lele joined forces to sell one ton of "pecel lele" worth Rp6.000 per package. Some 600 kilogram (kg) of live catfish was put up for sale directly to the public at the price of Rp7.000 per kg.

"About 400 kg of catfish will be used for cooking demonstrations that will be followed by 150 participants from the Greater Jakarta area," Soen`an Hadi Purnomo of the Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (KKP) said.

In order to meet the need for catfish at the festival, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries had supplied two tons of catfish to be sold to the public at a low price.

Soen`an Hadi Purnomo, who is head of Data Center for Statistics and Information (Pusdatin) of KKP, said the two tons of catfish were donated by the Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

"Some of the catfish will be sold live, some after being cooked, and some parts for the purposes of cooking demos," he said.

According to First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, catfish-related exhibitions will also feature the festival which is held from June 19 to 20 at the Parking Lot of the Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Senayan.

The public could get various kinds of information ranging from technical catfish cultivation, feed, until processed catfish.

Another interesting thing was the holding of special business meeting to bring together catfish farmers and entrepreneurs.

Some stakeholders such as PT Alang-alang from Boyolali, abon (boiled and fried shredded meat) catfish producers, "Cat Fish Club", Lele Lela, Department of Marine Fisheries in Yogyakarta and Central Java, to the catfish feed companies took part in the festival.

Ani said cultivating catfish ponds did not require extensive land. After all, catfish has strong resistance against moody water making its cultivation much easier and offering opportunities that could improve the people`s welfare.

For the purpose, Ani urged the Civil Servant Wives Organization (PKK) in the regions throughout the country to encourage backyard cultivation of catfish.

"Raise catfish in the yards for both own consumption and for sale. So this catfish can make families healthy and prosperous," she said.

Even in Jakarta which has a dense population and limited land, catfish farming can be run, Ani said.

At the event, organized by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Ani also called on the entire community to change their outlook that often saw catfish as an unhealthy food product.

Moreover, Ani also urged parents to teach their children to eat fish which had high protein in an effort to improve the quality of human resources.

The catfish festival is intended to improve the image of cultured fish which is often considered as not clear but a clean fish which is safe and healthy for consumption and could improve the intelligence and welfare of the people.

The catfish festival includes such activities as business meetings which bring together catfish entrepreneurs. It also presents cooking competitions for various kinds of catfish menus.

Exhibitions on various kinds of processed catfish food products ranging from catfish abon (shredded meat), catfish crisp, pecel lele to catfish soup.

National production of catfish in 2008 reached 114,371 tons, and in 2009 it increased nearly 75 percent to around 200 thousand tons.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has set itself a target of an increase catfish production by 450 percent to 900 thousand tonnes in 2014.

Catfish is a popular fish species in communities that has a significant growth of approximately 32 percent per annum during the period 2005-2009.

The national consumption of catfish in 2009 only reached 30.17 kg per capita per year, still below the recommended 31.40 kg per capita per year.

The Grand Catfish Festival aims to encourage the development of the catfish industry in Indonesia, particularly in the marketing aspect and encourage the development of catfish consumption in the community.

RI needs economic growth-oriented marine policies: Minister

The Jakarta Post

Over half of Indonesian territory consists of water. The successful maintenance of the aquatic ecosystem will benefit not only the people who depend on it for their livelihoods, but the environment of Indonesia as a whole, if not that of the world. The Jakarta Post's Agustina Wayansari recently talked to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi about the country's marine resources and their importance to the Indonesian people.

Question: Marine resources are the most abundant natural resource in our country. How can we help this sector help the people?

Answer: We impose policies which are pro poor people to alleviate poverty, pro job provision, and pro growth, which means they are economic growth-oriented. All these policies are implemented to improve the welfare of fishermen and people in coastal areas.

We also try to contribute more to the national economy through the maritime and fishery sectors, as well as to shape quality maritime natural resources and supporting resources.

Another program is to increase the consumption of fish among the people in this country, which is still considered very low despite the fact that we're a maritime country.

In short, the development programs in the maritime and fishery sectors include: empowering fish farmers and other people active in the maritime and fishery sectors; a program for the management and development of maritime and fishery resources, and a program for the conservation and monitoring of maritime and fishery resources.

Could you elaborate on the poverty alleviation policy?

It is a policy that aims to provide jobs and alleviate poverty. I'll take catfish cultivation in the dry area of Gunung Kidul regency in Yogyakarta as an example. Considering that the demand for catfish in the province is very high, we introduced catfish cultivation in 2005 and so far it has financially benefited the community. The people, including women, have developed a number of processed foods, such as dried shredded catfish and catfish crackers.

I am pretty sure that this kind of cultivation program will be useful in eliminating poverty in coastal areas. I also believe that the program will run smoothly if we continuously motivate the people by showing them that the program will bring economic benefits; that they will get money, so they can send their children to school. In Gunung Kidul, one pond can generate between Rp 1 million (US$108.9) to Rp 1.5 million during the harvest. It takes approximately 45 days for a new batch of fish to be ready for harvest.

We also introduced this cultivation program in other regions with different fish. In Jambi, patin (big catfish) is the choice, while in Riau people like grouper. In several other regencies in Sumatra, nila (orechromis niloticus) fish is the favorite.

How big is our fishery potential? Or have we already utilized it fully?

We haven't made the most of our potential. Let's say for fisheries, that we have a potential of 6.4 million tons per year, yet we now only take 3.8 to 4.8 million tons per year.

I think this happens because we still use traditional equipment. Therefore, the ministry is running a modernization program for fishing equipment to help fishermen maximize their catches. We assist them with modern boats, nets, and other equipment. However, we have found fishermen in several places in Indonesia refuse this modernization. They prefer their old traditional boats rather than the motorized ones. This happens in Sibolga, North Sumatra.

In order to maximize the impact of modernization, we also run empowerment programs among fishermen in several places. We provide them a big boat enough for a group of 15 people. The group will be given training for management of their catches, so the fish will still be fresh when they are sold in the market. With traditional boats, fishermen go to the sea in threes and thus catch fewer fish than when they use modern boats that are equipped with better facilities.

It's rather difficult to impose this modernization policy in eastern Indonesia and we have to do it. We have no problem in Java.

That about the budget for this modernization program? Could you tell us more about the allocation?

Last year, we had Rp 2.6 trillion, while this year we have Rp 3.2 trillion.

The budget is not enough of course, but we understand and keep trying to allocate an adequate amount for the modernization program. We have managed to do it gradually and by turns in different places across the country. Recently, we granted 600 motor boats to fishermen in Padang, West Sumatra.

We hope that fishermen can increase their productivity with modern equipment because they can go fishing twice a day. With a traditional boat, they can only make one trip. So, modernization is very important.

What is this biggest problem in regards to destructive fishing practices?

I have seen that the problem lies in the regulations. We need to make better regulations that can accommodate business interests but with better rules of the game. Previously there was no regulation requiring fishing companies to build factories in Indonesia. Foreign fishing companies just caught and took the fish away from us, which was not helping to alleviate poverty in our country. Thus, we need to change the pattern, requiring the companies to open factories here because it would have more value by providing job opportunities for the people. We accommodate their business interests, but at the same time they provide job opportunities for the people and pay taxes. That's what we call a multiplier effect. I hope this policy can increase investment from countries like Taiwan, the Philippines and China.

How is progress so far?

So far so good. We have found that a number of the factories built lack raw materials because many limited their boats' activities after the fuel price increase. We are still glad, however, that our exports remain good. This year, our exports from the fishery industry have been increasing and reached US$ 3.5 billion.