A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO SUPPORT MARINE ORNAMENTAL FISH CULTURE IN THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

In an effort to ensure that the environmental and monetary benefits of fish production for the ornamental trade benefits the country of origin, a marine fish breeding and hatchery facility in Makassar, Indonesia was established.  In addition to the provision of high quality fish with known provenance into the trade, raising fish by small scale aquaculture provides alternate livelihoods for island communities, traditionally reliant on fishing.   In order to support these fish culturing efforts a programme of marine ornamental fish (Amphiprion percula) breeding was established at the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition (WCPN), U.K. in order to develop best practice protocols to be deployed at the facility in Indonesia. The UK led breeding programme primarily focused on 1) the environmental conditions required for larval survival and 2) the importance of larval nutrition via live feed supplementation of various commercial and novel algal products.  

A local government aquaculture facility in a rural suburb of Makassar (South Sulawesi) was converted to a fish hatchery housing broodstock of various marine ornamental species. Here, broodstock were spawned and larvae grown to juveniles following WCPN protocols. Once juvenile fish were of a suitable size for transportation (2-3 cm), they were moved to a grow-out facility on Pulau Badi, an island ~15 km off the coast of Makassar, via car and boat. Islanders who would normally rely on destructive fishing techniques have been supplied with aquatic facilities for juvenile fish grow-out which are then sold into the ornamental industry, providing significant income improvement.

Various obstacles were encountered in applying these methods in Indonesia which may be typical for expanding into such territories. These included issues related to; continuous power to hatchery facilities, local environmental conditions, cultural barriers and education. However, once these issues were resolved and a sustainable programme is established this then promotes alternative more lucrative livelihoods and reduces environmental impact to local reefs of cyanide and dynamite fishing. Further research is now being conducted to assess the potential for dietary supplements to reduce stress responsiveness during transport, thus enhancing welfare of cultured fish.