Eco-friendly MESTI program farmers harvest tiger prawns

MESTI-supported shrimp farmers in Pegat Batumbuk Village, Pulau Derawan District, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan, successfully harvested tiger prawns on Wednesday, August 21. The harvest was witnessed by Berau Regent Sri Juniarsih Mas represented by the Acting Head of Fisheries Service and Expert Staff of Berau Regent, Jaka Siswanta, along with other regional organization officials, as well as representatives from Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), Pact and Chevron. 

The Pegat Batumbuk farmers have successfully practiced environmentally friendly traditional shrimp farming developed by YKAN and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and fisheries in response to the need to create a new sustainable shrimp pond design and better document shrimp pond operations to international standards. 

Abdurahman, one of the farmers who implemented sustainable shrimp farming, said that at the beginning of joining the MESTI program, the yield obtained was only about 3.5 kilograms. Gradually, the yield increased to 9 kilograms, then 35 kilograms and finally during this harvest period reached 50 kilograms. 

“The harvest cycle has also become faster. We used to harvest every 3 or 4 months, but now we can harvest every 2 months. In addition, we also get other harvest, namely milkfish and crabs, which are also increasing in number,” said Abdurahman. 

This new sustainable aquaculture model aims to deliver the same productivity in 2 hectares of shrimp pond as would be delivered in 10 hectares with the extensive shrimp pond redesign. Converting mangroves to aquaculture, mainly shrimp ponds, has led to a loss of mangroves in Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Mangroves provide shoreline protection from storms and tsunamis and reduce flood risks, inundation and erosion. Indonesia’s mangroves also help store a significant amount of carbon, which reduces greenhouse gases. This prompted the Berau Regency Government to launch the MESTI (Masyarakat Sahabat Tambak Indonesia) program, which is an acronym for an Indonesian phrase meaning “mangroves are friends of sustainable ponds.”

Jaka Siswanta, representing Berau Regent, stated that Berau Regency has the largest mangrove ecosystem in East Kalimantan, covering an area of more than 88,000 hectares. "However, many mangrove areas in our region have been converted, one of which is for shrimp ponds. Due to previous shrimp farming practices, water quality was reduced, leading to decreased harvests. This caused shrimp farmers to open even wider ponds," said Jaka.

For this reason, according to Jaka, his administration supports the MESTI program in restoring the mangrove ecosystem without disrupting the livelihoods of shrimp farmers. "Shrimp farmers in Pegat Batumbuk have proven that environmentally friendly shrimp farming is possible. We hope that more shrimp farmers in other areas of Berau can adopt sustainable farming practices like this," said Jaka.

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