Status and Development of Shrimp Farming In Sarawak

• Main Author: Lee, Kok Kwang
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2001
• Subjects: SH Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/24247/7/STATUS%20AND%20DEVELOPMENT.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/24247/

The goal of this study was to document the present status and development of shrimp farming in Sarawak. Data were collected by visiting various government departments, private agencies, interviews, literature search and field visits to some shrimp farms around Kuching. Commercial shrimp farming in Sarawak was first initiated by Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) about 15 years ago. In 1995, Sarawak started to implement the Inland Fisheries Rules to regulate all forms of aquaculture. Thus, from 1998, all comnlercial shrimp farms in Sarawak have to be licensed. Presently, there are 221 licensed shrimp farms and 8 others had been given permit. Shrimp farms were mostly concentrated in Kuching, Sarikei and Samarahan area. The species cultured is Perlaelis nronodon (tiger prawn). Shrimp farming relies very much on the natural environment for the available land and good water quality. This may generates some impacts on the environment and the local communities who depend on the same resources. It was found that most of the local communities at the coastal area like Buntal, Sambir, Tambirat and Telaga Air were not satisfied with aquaculture, as most of them are not involve in the industry. Most of the fishermen (67% of the respondents) also claimed that their catch has been affected in the recent years due to the shrimp farms nearby. Presently, there are 1,652 shrimp ponds occupying an area of 929 ha and another 1 1,454 ha of coastal areas have been earmarked as potential area for shrimp farming. There are 14 hatcheries, 11 imported feed suppliers and 7 processors in Sarawak. In 2000, the estimate production from shrimp aquaculture was 3,500 metric tons valued at RM125 million. With the abundance natural resources, support from government policies, comprehensive regulatory system, good farm management, availability of market, sufficient input facilities, processing and marketing facilities, shrimp farming in Sarawak is expected to expand at a fast rate.