Fisheries
Barramundi: Answer To PNG Economic Woes
Set to become the country's greatest hope
By now aquaculture should be making a big impact on the economy of Papua New Guinea, where the islands' coastal and reef environment would appear to be the perfect ground for it.
But so far, it hasn't. Along the Madang coast, Ian Middleton, a marine biologist and aquaculturist, is laying the foundation of what could become one of PNG's great economic hopes, not just in national terms but as a means by which the country's rural economies could be boosted.
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Since 1998 Middleton has been pioneering what is now set to become Papua New Guinea's first successful commercial aquaculture business, beginning with barramundi and prawns. He's already confident that the market for barramundi is larger than he'll ever be able to supply.
Middleton, whose family is a fourth-generation presence in the Madang region, believes that aquaculture is a great global hope for the future, capable of averting what is already the ruining of natural ocean fish stocks by ruthless over fishing.
For Papua New Guinea, apart from conserving natural fish stocks, feeding a nation and earning export revenue, barramundi farming is becoming the basis for becoming an important cash earner for Madang's coastal village communities.
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By the end of 2003, six "family farmer" pontoons were producing fish at a rate of 60,000 a year. Families take young barramundi from the Bismark Barramundi (PNG) Limited, Middleton's family company, and grow them to market size in pens floating in the sea from pontoons. They are raised on pellet feed that accounts for about 80% of production costs.
This year, working with the European Union and the newly established Rural Coastal Fisheries Development Programme, the company is involved in site selection, training, processing, marketing and general management with rural villagers along the north coast of Madang.
The target for them is to produce 12,500 fish from each pontoon or 250,000 fish every 15 to 18 months, principally for export.
This year, the company expects to market about 300,000 fish worth about A$1.2 million. "We have standing orders at the moment for 300,000 fish," Middleton says. The barramundi occurs in coastal regions from the Arabian Gulf to China. It begins life as a male, moves from freshwater streams to mangrove estuaries, and around the age of about five years becomes a female.
A big female can grow to 60 kilos. A 22-kilo female was recorded as producing 17 million eggs. In Australia, barramundis are rated as one of the tastiest of edible fish and are a star feature of high-class restaurant menus.
With a steady 28-Celsius degree climate, clear waters and coastal environment, Madang is "ideal" for the farm production of a fish that virtually sells itself, Middleton says. Deep, clear waters and a steady warm climate are integral to any tropical aquaculture venture. Bismarck Barramundi expects faster growth rates and attains a lower cost of production than achieved by Australian farmers. The company is already selling relatively low-cost effective, high quality salt-water fish to Papua New Guinea's consumers, fresh, whole plate and gilled and gutted kilo-size fish.
It takes six months to grow a fish to a 300-gram plate size, 15 months to produce a one-kilo fish of the size sold on the local market and 18 months to produce a 1.2-kilo fillet favoured by export customers.
Middleton is convinced that a huge future awaits PNG-produced barramundi in Australia, Asia and Europe.
"Our family farmer concept has created enormous interest in the community, providing rural Papua New Guineans with a desperately needed opportunity to better their lives. The involvement of women's groups has further enhanced the popularity of the concept. A village clan or family group can operate and eventually own floating ocean pontoons with a maximum cage capacity of 20,000 barramundi.
"Fingerlings can be purchased from the hatchery in accordance with guaranteed buy-back agreements for market fish, which will give rural PNG small business opportunities that have been so greatly lacking in the past.
"Enormous indirect benefits can also flow from the restocking of fingerlings in Papuan regions that have been depleted by commercial netting fishery. Wild stocks will be boosted, ensuring the continuing livelihood of indigenous, commercial fishermen, and a sustainable sports fishing business can be run for local and international anglers like the recreational fishery of the Northern Territory of Australia. Our coastal waters will be replenished with native stocks of the same genetic traits, so nullifying the potential introduction of exotic barramundi strains or diseases."
Middleton, 32, took marine fisheries and aquaculture degrees from the James Cook University in northern Queensland, one of the world's top tropical marine science research centres. He dedicated a year to the intricacies of barramundi farming. He began the farm in 1998 with the help of Chris O'Keefe, an Australian expert. Now Bismarck Barramundi has two trained locals, hatchery manager Efran Aide and pontoon manager Jason Papilas, to attend to daily production niceties.
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While Asian countries have long dominated aquaculture production, barramundi is now the second most important aquaculture species in Queensland. High reproduction and growth rates and its adaptation to fresh saltwater conditions makes it a prime candidate for aquaculture in either freshwater ponds or saltwater cages. Only a minute number of fish need to be taken from the natural resource for farming purposes.
All that Bismark Barramundi needed were 11 carefully selected fish collected from the Kikori and Galley Reach river systems, flown to Madang and trucked to the company's hatchery broodstock tank. There, breeding produces enough fingerling to enable the release of several millions into depleted rivers.
After a settling period, a quarterly spawning cycle has been adopted, followed by larval culture and eventual transfer to ocean based cages within a nursery pontoon in Sarang harbour. The final stage of the production cycle sees fingerlings transferred to the ocean side ponds to grow out fresh, market size fish.
A trial production run of 25,000 fish was completed and sold in 2000. Hatchery production can be continuous, fingerlings available for 12 months of the year.
The great advantage of barramundi is that fingerlings can be grown in either fresh or salt water, giving inland communities with appropriate freshwater resources the same opportunities as coastal villagers. Since barramundi can't reproduce in fresh water, island farms need an annual re-stock. The Ramu people hope to stock oxbow lakes near the main river. These large, enclosed waterways are an ideal habitat for rapid barramundi growth.
Middleton isn't restricting his pioneering aquaculture venture to barramundi. Like any other wise businessmen, he wants to spread his risks. He's exploring the potential for farming another fish species, pacu, and has just completed Papua New Guinea's first prawn farming trial with the production, processing and sale of 1000 kilos of banana prawns. Breeding stocks for these were collected from rivers on the north coast of Madang and spawned in the existing barramundi hatchery before being grown out in one of the company's six two-acres ponds. Now, the company hopes to find a partner for producing prawns from all six ponds.
