PERFORMANCE OF MARICULTURE COMMODITIES UNDER INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE AT GERUPUK BAY, WEST NUSA TENGGARA, INDONESIA

In its search for best management practices, the aquaculture industry should develop innovative and responsible practices that optimize its efficiency and create diversification, while ensuring the remediation of the consequences of its activities to maintain the health of coastal waters. By integrating fed aquaculture (finfish) with inorganic and organic extractive aquaculture (seaweeds or shelfishes), the wastes of one resource user become a resource (fertilizer or food) for the others. The present study was conducted to investigate simultaneously cultivating the finfish (hybrid grouper, Epinephelus sp.) and seaweeds (Kappaphycus alvarezii and Eucheuma denticulatum) on growth rates of both species and nutrient distribution around the integrated system. This study was aimed to analyze perfomance of mariculture commodities that cultured under integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system. The study was conducted in Gerupuk Bay, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara during June-November 2015. The IMTA model was combined between tiger grouper fish (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus), silver pompano fish (Trachinotus blochii, Lacepede), and seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii).

The result showed that during  150 days of cultured periods, both of grouper and pompano indicated a good growth performance, with mean body weight at the end of culture period about 173,45 ± 36,61 g/ind and 161,27 ± 30,05 g/ind, respectively (Figure 1). Seaweed growth performance from three cultivation cycles showed that cycle-1 (June-July) and cycle-2 (August-September) had better growth performance than cycle-3 (October-November). Daily growth rate of seaweed that cultured near fish cages was higher (4,22-6,09 %) than control, 2-3 km distance to fish cages (3,90-5,53%) (Table 1).