Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network...

32
July-September 2004 (No. 2) 1 Farming practices, market chains and prices of marine finfish in Malaysia Grouper farming, market chains and marine finfish prices in Indonesia Marine finfish markets in Hong Kong Marine finfish aquaculture in China Spawning and larval rearing of coral trout at Gondol RIM First successful hatchery production of Napoleon wrasse at Gondol RIM New ACIAR project - Economic and Market Analysis of the Live Reef Food Fish Trade in Asia- Pacific Assessment of the use of coded wire tags to trace coral trout in the live reef food fish trade APEC workshop on environ- mental principles and policies in aquaculture administration Trade and market trends in the live reef food fish trade Network supported by: Some insights into the live marine food fish markets in the region Sih Yang Sim Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, PO Box 1040, Kasetsart Post Office, Bangkok 10903, Thailand. Marine finfish species such as groupers, snapper, seabass and other coral reef species command premium prices when sold live in seafood restaurants in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, a plate size seabass (Lates calcarifer), 400-700 g may cost 100-150 Baht/kg (US$1 = Baht 41) in a supermarket or wet market in Bangkok, but in local restaurants the table served prices can range from 120-250 Baht/fish or 300-357 Baht/kg. In the premium seafood places in the Central Business District of Bangkok, live seabass fetch as high as 500 Baht/kg, excluding costs of cooking and preparation. Epinephelus coioides (green grouper or orange-spotted grouper) is the most common grouper species farmed in Thailand. At one stage during the SARS period, the price dropped to 120 Baht/kg at the farm gate but it has steadily increased to around 220-240 Baht/kg. The green grouper is priced at around 700-900 Baht/kg in most live seafood restaurants in Bangkok central business district. In Singapore, the buying price for imported live green Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network Magazine

Transcript of Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network...

Page 1: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 1

• Farming practices, marketchains and prices of marinefinfish in Malaysia

• Grouper farming, marketchains and marine finfishprices in Indonesia

• Marine finfish markets inHong Kong

• Marine finfish aquaculture inChina

• Spawning and larval rearingof coral trout at Gondol RIM

• First successful hatcheryproduction of Napoleonwrasse at Gondol RIM

• New ACIAR project -Economic and MarketAnalysis of the Live ReefFood Fish Trade in Asia-Pacific

• Assessment of the use ofcoded wire tags to tracecoral trout in the live reeffood fish trade

• APEC workshop on environ-mental principles andpolicies in aquacultureadministration

• Trade and market trends inthe live reef food fish trade

Network supported by:

Some insights into the live marinefood fish markets in the region

Sih Yang Sim

Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, PO Box 1040, Kasetsart PostOffice, Bangkok 10903, Thailand.

Marine finfish species such asgroupers, snapper, seabass and othercoral reef species command premiumprices when sold live in seafoodrestaurants in the Asia-Pacific region.For example, a plate size seabass (Latescalcarifer), 400-700 g may cost 100-150Baht/kg (US$1 = Baht 41) in asupermarket or wet market in Bangkok,but in local restaurants the table servedprices can range from 120-250 Baht/fishor 300-357 Baht/kg. In the premiumseafood places in the Central BusinessDistrict of Bangkok, live seabass fetch

as high as 500 Baht/kg, excluding costsof cooking and preparation.

Epinephelus coioides (greengrouper or orange-spotted grouper) isthe most common grouper speciesfarmed in Thailand. At one stage duringthe SARS period, the price dropped to120 Baht/kg at the farm gate but it hassteadily increased to around 220-240Baht/kg. The green grouper is priced ataround 700-900 Baht/kg in most liveseafood restaurants in Bangkok centralbusiness district. In Singapore, thebuying price for imported live green

Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network

Magazine

Page 2: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network2

Marine Finfish AquacultureMagazine

An electronic magazine of theAsia-Pacific Marine Finfish

Aquaculture Network

ContactAsia-Pacific Marine Finfish

Aquaculture NetworkPO Box 1040

Kasetsart Post OfficeBangkok 10903, Thailand

Tel +66-2 561 1728 (ext 120)Fax +66-2 561 1727

Email [email protected] http://www.enaca.org/

marinefish

EditorsSih Yang Sim

Asia-Pacific MarineFinfish Aquaculture Network,

c/o [email protected]

Dr Michael J. PhillipsEnvironmental Specialist &

Manager of R&D, [email protected]

Simon WilkinsonCommunications Manager,

[email protected]

Dr Mike RimmerPrincipal Fisheries Biologist

(Mariculture & StockEnhancement)

DPIF, Northern Fisheries CentrePO Box 5396

Cairns QLD 4870Australia

[email protected]

grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/kg (US$8.90) as at September 2004.

In Hong Kong, live marine finfishtraders expect the price for greengrouper to increase toward the end ofthe year during the festive seasons. Itis also expected that consumption ofgreen grouper will remain high as it isthe most common grouper species usedfor special banquets such as wedding,birthdays and company dinners.

Cultured vs wild grouper

Although many claim that the taste ofcultured grouper and wild groupercannot be differentiated byprofessional tasting panels, consumersfrom China, Hong Kong, Singapore andMalaysia still prefer wild grouper.Could this be merely the taste thatconsumers preferred or could it be theperception that wild products tastebetter and are healthier than the farmedproducts? As a comparison, Malaysia’s“kampung chickens” or Thailand’s “kaibaan”, native chickens that are grownin a free range condition without (orwith limited) commercial poultry feedalways command a higher price due toits taste and lower fat levels relative tocommercially farmed chickens.

When we discussed this issue withtraders from Singapore, Hong Kongand China they said that thoseconsumers who have more cultivated“taste buds”, can tell whether agrouper or other marine fish is farmedor wild caught. For example, greengroupers from Thailand are consideredlow quality due to a muddy taste fromtraditional culture in mangrove creeksand earthen ponds. Similarly seabassfarmed in earthen ponds or freshwateralso tend to have an off flavor and canbe distinguished by their darkercolouration, which is a marketingproblem and leads to a lower price.

They also pointed out that farmedCromileptes altivelis (mouse grouper,barramundi cod) can be identifiedvisually, as farmed mouse groupersgenerally have a shorter and fatterbody than their wild cousins. Farmedmouse groupers are also more difficultto handle and transport as they are lesshardy then the wild ones. A trader fromSingapore reported that a 150kg airshipment of table size mouse groupersto Hong Kong recently turned out tobe a total disaster with all of the fish

dying during transit. Could the problemhave been poor packing and handling,or are farmed mouse groupersgenuinely less hardy ? Hong Kongtraders also confirm that farmed mousegroupers are less tolerant of handling,more susceptible to stress and sufferhigher mortality. Such losses wouldadd to costs and may be one factoraffecting the premium price for mousegrouper in Hong Kong and China. Farmgate prices for mouse groupers inIndonesia are US$30-40/kg, while thewholesale prices in Hong Kong andChina seafood markets are around US$84/kg. The challenge then foraquaculture is to produce high quality,tasty, and hardy fish.

Hong Kong traders are activelylooking for sources of wild caughtgroupers species such as E.polyphekadion, E. fuscoguttatus, andPlectropomus spp. Recently, a 30 tonlive fish vessel was put on hold atHong Kong due to ciguatera, whichwas suspected to be coming from EastTimor region. Import of live coral reeffish species from the Pacific islands arealso falling due to ciguatera problems.With the export quota enforced on livecoral reef fish exports fromQueensland, Australia in July 2004, it isvery likely that species such asPlectropomus spp., the major speciesexported from Australia will be in shortsupply leading to an escalation inprice.

Domestic vs internationalmarkets

Most farmers only focus on exportmarkets for live marine finfish. There isno doubt that prices for markets suchas Hong Kong and China are higher,but the risk is also high for sellers andbuyers. For example, if an Indonesianexporter sends an air shipment of livemarine finfish to Hong Kong themortality rate on arrival may be 10%. Inthis case the exporter will bear thefinancial losses for this 10% mortalityand eventually the loss may be passedon to the farmers. Dead grouper can besold at the market but the price isgenerally less than one third of the livefish.

Should marine finfish farmers in theregion only target Hong Kong andChina live fish markets or should theyalso consider domestic markets for

Page 3: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 3

larger fish? In Malaysia, with about30% Chinese population, the eatinghabits for the Chinese community aresimilar to those in Hong Kong or China.A visit to the local fresh market hasprovided an indication that groupersare also sold here as fresh fish, inaddition to the live fish segment of thehotel and restaurant industries.Groupers sold in the fresh market aremostly green groupers. Most are morethan 1 kg and sold as fillet or “block”,priced at around RM 37/kg (US$ 9.74).Although groupers in this market onlymake up a very small part of the widevariety of marine finfish species soldthe market demand can be considerableif every fresh market in Malaysia isselling similar quantities. Indonesia, thePhilippines and Thailand might alsowish to consider developing theirdomestic markets for grouper species.A good example is the successfulreplacement of the export market forPenaeus vannamei shrimp by domesticconsumption in PR China and Thailand.A stable domestic market can absorb aportion of farmed production, reducingrisk when extraordinary events in HongKong and China cause prices forgrouper to fall. A more stable marketwould be a significant benefit forfarmers, particularly small-scaleoperators, providing a buffer fromfinancial turmoil from such events.

Farming practices, market chains, andprices of marine finfish in Malaysia

Sih Yang Sim1, Paolo Montaldi2, Alessandro Montaldi2 and Hassanai Kongkeo1

1. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, PO Box 1040, Kasetsart PostOffice, Bangkok 10903, Thailand.

2. Terre des hommes Italy (TDH). c/o Andaman Sea Fisheries Research andDevelopment Center, 77 Sakdidej Road, Wichit, Amphur Muang, Phuket 83000,

Thailand

This article summarises findings fromfield trips to Malaysia conducted aspart of a regional survey of NACA/TDH (Terre des Hommes Foundation -Italy) in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish AquacultureNetwork. The surveys were conductedin March-August, 2004 facilitated bythe Department of Fisheries, Malaysia

Marine finfish are widely cultured inMalaysia. This may be due to threemain factors: The Malaysiangovernment’s strong promotion ofaquaculture, particularly of marinefinfish farming; the economic successof many marine finfish farms, andcontinued domestic and regional

market demand for marine finfish. Theannual fish consumption per-capital inMalaysia is around 50 kg.

In 2004, more than 16 marine fishspecies are being cultured in Malaysiaeither for local consumption or export,based on local hatchery produced orimported fingerlings. Speciescommonly found in Malaysian farmsinclude Epinephelus coioides (greengrouper), E. fuscoguttatus (tigergrouper), E. lanceolatus (giantgrouper), Lates calcarifer (seabass),Lutjanus argentimaculatus (mangrovesnapper), L. johnii (John’s snapper), L.stellatus and Trachinotus blochii(pompano). Other marine finfish

Mr Sih Yang Sim of NACA is currentlyregistered with Deakin University, Schoolof Ecology and Environment, Australia, fora PhD research program on “An economicanalysis of the grouper aquacultureindustry in selected countries in the Asia-Pacific”.

Focus on markets, trade andeconomics

Welcome to the second edition of theAsia-Pacific Marine FinfishAquaculture Network’s e-Magazine.The quarterly e-Magazinecomplements the fortnightly e-Newsby publishing full-length articles onvarious aspects of marine finfishaquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region.

This edition focuses on market,trade and economic issues. The rapiddevelopment of marine finfishaquaculture in the region is to a largeextent in response to the strongdemand and high prices for manymarine finfish species, such assnappers and groupers. Informationon markets and trade is valuable forfarmers, aquaculture suppliers andmanagers.

The next issue will featurenutrition, feeds and feeding practices.We encourage the submission ofarticles on these topics from networkparticipants. Send submissions to:

Asia-Pacific Marine FinfishAquaculture Network (APMFAN).c/o: NACA, PO Box 1040Kasetsart Post Office,Bangkok 10903, ThailandTel: 66-2-561 1728 (Ext 120);Fax: 66-2-561 1727Email: [email protected]: www.enaca.org/marinefish/

This issue also introduces a newsponsor for APMFAN: SkrettingAustralia Pty Ltd. Skretting haveagreed to sponsor the network for thenext two years, including sponsoringthis e-Magazine and the e-Newsletter.We gratefully acknowledgeSkretting’s contribution to thedevelopment and growth of APMFANand look forward to continuing towork with Skretting towards thedevelopment of sustainable marinefinfish aquaculture in the region.

Sih Yang Sim, Michael J. Phillips,Simon Wilkinson and Mike Rimmer.

Page 4: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network4

Aerated larvae tank with newly hatch larvae and live food organisms.

Hapa system used in an open pond hatchery system in Penang.

Earthen ponds used for seabass culture in Penang.

species such as Cromileptes altivelis(humpback grouper), Cephalopholisminiata (coral hind), Eleuthonematetradectylum (fourfinger threadfin),Gnathanodon speciosus (goldentrevally), Pomadasys unimaculatus(red patched grunter), Rachycentroncanadum (cobia), Chanos chanos(milkfish), Caranx ignobilis (gianttrevally) are farmed but less common.

The following observations arebased on field visits to three areas inWest Malaysia (Penang, Kedah, andJohor) where there is substantialmarine finfish farm development.Hatchery and farming practicescurrently being adopted in these threeareas are described together withinformation on market chains and fishprices.

Hatchery systems formarine finfish species

There are two common types ofhatchery systems in Penang; concretetanks and earthen ponds. Hatcherysystems with concrete tanks areusually roofed but not enclosed. Theseare high-density larviculture systemsnormally used for grouper species,particularly for E. fuscoguttatus. Thissystem consists of a big larval rearingtank about 6 x 6 metres in size andabout 1 metre in depth. Each larvalrearing tank is fully aerated by airstones through a blower. Artificial dietsare not commonly used; rather rotifer,copepods and Artemia nauplii are usedextensively.

The earthen pond hatchery systemis based on the open pond hatcherysystem traditionally used in ChineseTaipei. The ponds are aerated by bothpaddle wheels and blowers, averaging0.25 hectare and are stocked with 2-3eggs per litre. There are two methods inwhich the fertilized eggs are stockedinto the earthen pond, either directly, orusing a hapa system. The hapa systembasically uses a mosquito net orcanvass to enclose a small section ofthe pond. In this way, observation ofthe newly hatched larvae is easier andif the hatching rate is poor thehatchings can be removed and a newbatch stocked. The hapa system is onlyused for a short period (i.e. five days),after which the hapa are removed toallow the fish larvae to grow in theearthen pond feeding on zooplankton.

Page 5: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 5

Packing of seabass at the auction area on Penang fishing pier.

300-400 g threadfin being harvested at a Penang farm and ready for market.

Long floating cage for milkfish farming in Johor.

Direct stocking basically involvesreleasing the fertilized eggs directlyinto the pond. The disadvantage ofdirect stocking is that hatching andsurvival of larvae is hard to monitor.

The natural pond productivity issupplemented with additional rotifersand copepods produced throughfertilization. When problems of lowcopepod productivity are sometimesexperienced Artemia biomass (eitherproduced in tanks or imported fromThailand) is used as a supplementaryfood for the marine fish larvae in thepond. Marine finfish species producedusing this system are mainly threadfinand snapper. Survival rates arerelatively low but overall this is asimple and economical productionsystem that can be used for producinga wide variety of species.

Grow-out systems formarine finfish species

There are two main farming systems inthe three areas we visited, floatingcages and pond culture. Floating cagesare more widely used for a large varietyof marine fish species while pondculture is normally used for speciessuch as threadfin and seabass,although these two species are alsobeing farmed in floating cages.

Seabass farm in Penang

Ponds for seabass culture arecommonly around 6,000 m2 in area witha rectangular shape. Paddle wheels areused to provide aeration and generally4 to 6 long shaft paddlewheels (5wheels per shaft) will be used perpond, each driven by a 10 hp dieselengine. The stocking density is around45,000 fingerlings per pond (averagetotal length 7.5cm) at the seabass farmin Penang. The cost of fingerlings isapproximately RM 0.50/piece. The farmwe visited imports its fingerlings fromThailand as the farmer considersimporting to be cheaper than producingthem locally.

The growth of fingerlings in theponds is rapid, reaching 100 grams attwo months, 500-800 grams at sevenmonths, and more than 2 kg at 18months. The main production target islarge size seabass for export toSingapore, with fish sold ex-farm tomiddlemen at RM 12.00/kg who resell to

Page 6: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network6

Giant grouper at a Johor marine fish farm.

Pompano fingerlings at a Johor marine fish farm.

Marine fish farm in Johor, showing workers grading tiger grouper fingerlings.

Singaporean traders for RM 14.00/kg.The silvery colouration of the seabassproduced in Malaysia is preferred byboth the local and Singapore marketsover the darker coloured seabassproduced under lower salinity culturein Thailand. The market price forMalaysian seabass is also highercompared to the Thai seabass.

The productivity for the Penangseabass farm is around 6-10 tonnes/cycle at average 600 grams. Theaverage survival is 60%, the lowest 30-40%. There is no significant record ofdisease so far.

Feeding is carried out two times perday, early morning and evening. It iscommon to use a mixed diet of trashfish and floating pellets to accustomfish to all-pellet diet when trash fishfeeding must be discontinued becauseof seasonal scarcity. The farm wevisited has tried several seabass feedsfrom Grobest and CP, but they havenow found a generic “fish” feed with38% protein content to be better interms of performance and price, whichthey source from a company based inChinese Taipei. They do not find itdifficult to wean large (7.5cm) seabassfingerlings to pellets. At the beginningof weaning the pellets are squeezedinto trash fish pieces and the fish isstarved to accelerate acceptance.

The partial use of floating pelletsseems to allow extended culture toproduce large seabass as less trashfish waste accumulates on the pondbottom but the whole operation isrunning on tight margins. It appearsthat the Malaysian pond farming modelfor seabass allows better control overculture inputs (energy, labor, andspecifically FCR) and overall farmeconomics.

Fourfinger threadfin

The farming of fourfinger threadfin inearthen ponds is similar to the seabasssystem but the stocking rate of 5 –7.5cm fingerlings is only about 3-4pieces per square metre. This fish isextremely aggressive and verysensitive to dissolved oxygen in thewater, with low levels leading to massmortality. Under optimal conditions thesurvival rate to harvest size is around80-90%. The fish are fed with CPseabass dry feed (30% protein) and theestimated FCR is above 2. The fish can

Page 7: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 7

seabass feed. Many of the floatingcages in Malaysia are located inestuaries close to the river mouth. Thewater tends to be a bit more turbid.

Grouper species generally take morethan ten months to reach marketablesize, while survival rates are usuallylow. Some farms may even experience30% survival rate post stocking of 5cmfingerlings. An increasing trend ingrouper farming in Johor is to growgiant grouper from imported fry (from 3cm size) to 1 kg, and sell to otherfarmers that will on-grow the fish tolarger sizes for the market. The price for1 kg giant grouper “fingerlings” isextremely high, around RM 80.00/kg inAugust 2004 mainly due to high priceof small fry imported from ChineseTaipei, around US$ 1.00-1.20 per 3cmfry.

Other marine finfish species, such aspompano are considered a “cash crop”as they only take about 4-6 months toreach marketable size from 2.5cmfingerlings. The farm gate price forpompano is about US$6.50/kg in Johor(August 2004) for the Singaporemarket.

Market chains for livemarine food fish in Malaysia

Generally, the farming areas for marinefinfish are located close to fishing piersor fisheries landing ports. Most ofthese also function as a small auctionground for live or fresh seafood.

Farmers can sell their produce eitherat the auction floor to buyers or selldirect to exporters who come to thefarm to pickup by boat or truck. SomeHong Kong buyers go direct to thefarming areas and buy live marine foodfish from the farmers and ship themback by boat, which normally has acapacity of 10-15 tons.

Other than grouper species, many ofthe marine finfish cultured in Malaysiaalso find their way to the Singaporemarket. Seabass, pompano, threadfinand snapper are some of the marinefinfish that are commonly sold acrossthe border to Singapore, live or chilled.

Although Singapore and HongKong markets generally commandhigher prices, some of the farmedmarine finfish species are also soldlocally in either restaurants or freshmarkets. It is not uncommon to see

grow to 300-400 grams within 10months. Export to Singapore is feasibleif local Penang markets (300 kg/day)have been saturated.

Farming threadfin in floating cagesis also being carried out in Johor andthe feed used for grow-out is alsoseabass feed. Threadfin are aggressivefeeders.

Milkfish

Milkfish are farmed in Johor in floatingcages of 6 x 60 x 3 metres in size, muchlarger than the normal floating cagesused for marine fish. Production percage is about 10-15 tons with averagemilkfish weight around 500-700 g. Theproduction cycle is about 18 months.

The prices for milkfish range fromUS$1.05, US$1.20 to US$2.00 per kgdepending on the size, with larger fishreceiving a higher price per kilogram.Milkfish fry are all imported from eitherIndonesia or Chinese Taipei.

Grouper, snapper and other marinefinfish

Floating cages are the most commonsystem used for farming of grouper,snapper and other marine finfish inMalaysia. The most common net cageused for farming is 3 x 3 x 3 metres.Carnivorous species such as grouperand snapper are mostly fed trash fish.Other species such as pompano andthreadfin are generally fed with floating

Fishing pier at Johor where farmed fish are being transported by ‘taxi’ to market.

Fresh market in Penang selling farmed snapper and grouper in fillet or block forms.

Page 8: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network8

large (more than 2 kg) farmed grouperssold in local markets as fillets or blocks.

Farm gate, retail, andrestaurants prices

The following prices are based on afield survey visit conducted from 28March-2 April, 2004. These prices arefor reference only as seasonal variationin prices should also be taken intoconsideration. Malaysian Ringgit to USDollar conversion rate is US$ 1.00 =RM 3.80.

Farmed snapper and grouper species are sold at a fresh market in Penang.Table 1: Farm gate prices at Penang

Table 2: Sungai Udang fishing pier

Table 3: Penang retail fresh market

Table 4: Live seafood restaurants in Penang (Batu Muang and Bukit Tambun)

Common name Scientific name RM/Kg Comments Giant grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus 40.00-45.00 Cage culture, chilled Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 17.00-18.00 Cage culture, chilled Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 38.00-45.00 Cage culture, chilled Mangrove snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus 17.00 Cage culture, chilled (500 g) Seabass Lates calcarifer 13.00-14.00 Cage culture, fresh chilled Fourfinger threadfin Eleutheronema tetradactylum 22.00-23.00 Wild

Common name Scientific name RM/Kg Comments Sixband grouper Epinephelus sexfasciatus 20.00 Small Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 36.70 - Mangrove snapper (large) Lutjanus argentimaculatus 20.00 Large Mangrove snapper (small) Lutjanus argentimaculatus 17.50 Small Seabass (small) Lates calcarifer 13.30-23.30 Small Seabass (large) Lates calcarifer 40.00 Large -wild Fourfinger threadfin Eleutheronema tetradactylum 20.00 Small

Common name Scientific name RM/Kg Comments John’s snapper Lutjanus johnii 32.00 Live Mangrove snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus 20.00-32.00 Live Blubberlip snapper Lutjanus rivulatus 35.00 Live Seabass Lates calcarifer 28.00-32.00 Live Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 50.00-65.00 Live Humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis 260.00 Live Giant grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus 60.00 Live Pompano Trachinotus blochii 20.00 Live

Common Name Scientific Name RM/Kg Comments Giant trevally Caranx ignobilis 14.00-15.00 -- Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 18.00 -- Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 38.00-45.00 0.7-1.2 kg (live) Fourfinger threadfin (large) Eleutheronema tetradactylum 22.00 CNF Singapore (300 g/fish) Fourfinger threadfin (small) Eleutheronema tetradactylum 10.00 7 pieces/kg Fourfinger threadfin (large) Eleutheronema tetradactylum 22.00 500-700 g Cobia Rachycentron canadum 5.00 -- Seabass (small) Lates calcarifer 9.00 500-700 g Seabass (large) Lates calcarifer 12.00 2 kg fish

Page 9: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 9

Grouper farming, market chains, and marine finfish pricesin Indonesia

Sih Yang Sim1, Paolo Montaldi2, Alessandro Montaldi2 and Hassanai Kongkeo1

1. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, PO Box 1040, Kasetsart Post Office, Bangkok 10903, Thailand.2. Terre des hommes Italy (TDH). c/o Andaman Sea Fisheries Research and Development Center, 77 Sakdidej Road,

Wichit, Amphur Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand

This article summarises findingsfrom field trips to Indonesia con-ducted as part of a regional surveyof NACA/TDH (Terre des HommesFoundation - Italy) in cooperationwith the Asia-Pacific MarineFinfish Aquaculture Network. Thesurveys were conducted in April-September, 2004 and was facilitatedby the Directorate General forAquaculture Development, Indone-sia.

Indonesian marine finfish farminghas developed rapidly over the last fiveyears, particularly for high pricedspecies such as grouper.Breakthroughs in grouper breedingtechniques from 1999 by variousresearch centers in Indonesia such asthe Research Institute for Mariculture,Gondol; National SeafarmingDevelopment Center, Lampung;Brackishwater AquacultureDevelopment Sub Centre, Situbondo;together with a government focus onmariculture development, have led tomajor developments in grouper farmingin Indonesia.

Kawahara and Ismi (2003) provideda good statistical report on thedevelopment of grouper hatcheries inIndonesia. In 1999, there were only fivehatcheries producing grouperfingerlings in Indonesia located at Bali(1), Lampung (2) and East Java (2).However, by 2001 grouper hatcherydevelopment had intensified with 123hatcheries producing grouper

fingerlings in Bali (114), Lampung (5),and East Java (4). The boom inhatchery production led tooverproduction and the price forgrouper fingerlings droppedsubstantially. This drove many smallhatcheries to switch to other speciesand by 2002 only 67 hatcheries werestill producing grouper fingerling. Thedecline was most evident in Bali withonly 55 hatcheries still producinggrouper fingerlings, a 50% drop, whilein Lampung (6) and East Java (7) morehatcheries were producing grouper.This may be due to the fact that the50% of the hatcheries in Bali switched

to milkfish fry production, due tomarket opportunities. Grouper seedproduction statistics for Indonesiafrom 1999-2002 show that the totalproduction of tiger grouper(Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) fry hasgrown continuously from around63,000 pieces to 2,656,000 in 2002 whilehumpback grouper (Cromileptesaltivelis) fry has grown from 123,000pieces in 1999 to 1,114,000 pieces in2001 with a sharp decline to 698,000 in2002.

New marine finfish species such ascoral trout (Plectropomus spp.) andnapoleon wrasse (Cheilinus

Live seafood restaurant in Bali with display aquaria of various marine finfish varieties.

Table 5: Fish prices at Carrefour-Mid Valley Megastore Kuala Lumpur

Common name Scientific name RM/Kg Comments Fourfinger threadfin Eleutheronema tetradactylum 15.80 Fresh chilled, (small) Milkfish Chanos chanos 8.80 Fresh chilled, (30 cm) Sixband grouper Epinephelus sexfasciatus 15.80 Fresh chilled, (small) Seabass Lates calcarifer 12.90 Fresh chilled, (0.8-1 kg) Mangrove snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus 19.90 Fresh chilled, (0.5-0.8 kg) Grouper fillet - 9.50 Frozen shelf, (300 g) Coral trout whole - 22.90 Frozen shelf, (600 g)

Page 10: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network10

undulatus) are being produced incaptivity. The refinement of larviculturetechnique for these species may lead toextensive farming if fingerlings can bemass-produced in the hatchery.However, rapid market saturation mayalso occur.

Hatchery system forgrouper species in

Indonesia

The hatchery system used for grouperfingerlings production was based onthe Backyard Multi-species HatcherySystem (BMHS) developed in theResearch Institute for MaricultureGondol. For more details on this systemrefer to “Study on economics andsocio-economics of small-scale marinefish hatcheries and nurseries, withspecial reference to grouper systems inBali, Indonesia” by Susana v Siar,William Lee Johnston and Sih YangSim, 2002. A new publication “A Guideon Small-scale Marine Finfish HatcheryTechnology” by ACIAR/NACA alsoprovides details on this aspect. Checkwebsite www.enaca.org/marinefish/ foravailability.

The development ofgrouper grow-out in

Lampung

In 1999, there was only one grouperfarm in Lampung with eight units (i.e.one unit is four cages measuring about

4 x 4 metres or 3 x 3 metres). With theincrease in availability of grouperfingerlings and government promotionfor marine finfish culture in Indonesia,the number of farms growing grouper inLampung had escalated to 42 farmswith a total of 388 units (1,552 cages)by 2002 (Kawahara and Ismi, 2003). In2004, there are some 800 marine fishcage units (3,200 cages) in Lampung.The two main species cultured here arehumpback grouper and tiger grouper,mainly based on availability offingerlings from hatcheries. There arealso some farms that obtain fingerlingsof various grouper species from thewild or import from Taiwan Province ofChina (giant grouper) for stocking orfattening before being sold toexporters.

Most of the marine finfish farmsseen in Lampung are relatively largeand well constructed. The walkwaysare wide and allow easy movement andoperations. It is common to see cagesand walkways shaded with permanentnetting tents and equipment such ashigh-pressure pumps for net cleaning.Many rafts are directly supplied withfreshwater (personal use, fishtreatment) delivered from land sourcesvia pipes. Grouper farming in this areais clearly a middle- to large-scaleinvestment and certainly not a small-scale fishermen affair.

The farming practice is a mixture offeeding artificial feed produced bycommercial feed companies, or “trash”

fish. Most humpback groupers are fedwith artificial diet while other grouperspecies are mostly fed with trash fish.

Tiger grouper and humpbackgrouper can reach marketable size (400-700 g) within 9-12 and 16-24 months,respectively. However, if largerfingerlings are stocked it may shortenthe culture period, for example 15 cmhumpback grouper fingerlings will takeabout 9 – 10 months to reach 450 g. Onthe other hand, giant grouper is a fastgrowing species that can reach 300 gwithin 4 months from an initial stockingsize of 4 cm.

Market chains for live reeffood fish in Indonesia

The live reef food fish supply inIndonesia comes from two sources,wild caught and aquaculture. Most ofthe tiger and humpback groupers fromIndonesia are now produced fromaquaculture.

The market chains for cultured livemarine finfish are rather simple, thefarmers buy fingerlings from thehatchery or via traders, grow thesefingerlings to marketable size in 9-24months depending on grouper species,and sell the produces in live, mainly tolocal exporters, Hong Kong buyers(either by live fish vessel or by airshipment), or to local restaurants.

The market chains for wild-caughtfinfish are more complex. Fishermenmay sell their catches through variouschannels (such as to collectors, fishfarmers, traders, exporters, restaurants,and Hong Kong buyers) depending onthe locality of the fishing area and howaccessible it is to various marketchannels. However, most fishermenprobably sell to collectors as fishinggrounds are generally located in aremote area such as Eastern Indonesiaand Irian Jaya and collectors are theonly accessible channel to market forthem.

From collectors, fish may bedistributed to various channels withundersized fish going to farmers for on-growing to marketable size, and tablesized fish going directly to traders,exporters, local restaurants or HongKong buyers.

Small quantity of coral trout fingerlings produced at RIM-Gondol.

Page 11: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 11

Farm gate, retail, andrestaurant prices in

Indonesia

The following prices are based on afield survey visit conducted in April 11-19, 2004. These prices are for referenceonly as seasonal variation in pricesshould also be taken intoconsideration. All prices are convertedfrom Rupiah to US Dollar at anexchange rate of US$1.00 = Rupiah9,000.

References

1. Kawahara, S. and Suko Ismi, 2003. Grouper SeedProduction Statistics in Indonesia (1999-2002).Research Institute for Mariculture-Gondol,Indonesia.

2. Siar, S.V., Johnston, W.L. and Sim, S.Y. (2002). Studyon Economics and Socio-economics of Small-scaleMarine Fish Hatcheries and Nurseries, with SpecialReference to Grouper Systems in Bali, Indonesia. 36pp., Report prepared under APEC Project FWG 01/2001 - ‘Collaborative APEC Grouper Research andDevelopment Network’. Asia-Pacific MarineFinfish Aquaculture Network Publication 2/2002.Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific,Bangkok, Thailand.

Large-scale marine fish farm in Lampung growing mainly tiger and humpback groupers.

Wild caught Plectropomus laevis sellingat a seafood market in Jakarta.

Price differentiation for wild capture species according to size, Plectropomusleopardus

Size Details US$/Kg Comments Large (> 1.3 kg) 14.40 Rupiah 130,000 Medium (0.9-1.3 kg) 12.20 Rupiah 110,000 Super (5-9 ounces) 22.20 Rupiah 200,000 Baby (2-5 ounces) 11.10 Rupiah 100,000 Undersized (< 2 ounces) 5.60 Rupiah 50,000

Live fish transport boat cruising around a marine floating cage farm in Bali to collectmarketable size marine finfish for Hong Kong.

English common name Scientific name US$/Kg Comments Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 8.90 1.5-5 kg fish at Rupiah 80,000/kg,

wild Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 4.40-5.60 Rupiah 40-50,000/kg for cultured

fish at marketable size Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 5.60 Big size > 5 kg, Rupiah 50,000/kg Humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis 33.30 Rupiah 300,000/kg for wild capture Humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis 30.00 Rupiah 270,000/kg for cultured fish Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus undulatus 33.30 Rupiah 300,000/kg Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 6.70 Rupiah 60,000/kg Camouflage grouper Epinephelus polyphekadion 9.40 Rupiah 85,000/kg Coral grouper Epinephelus corallicola 10.20 Rupiah 92,000/kg Areolate grouper Epinephelus areolatus 8.90 Rupiah 80,000/kg

Marine finfish prices at live reef fish exporter in Denpasar (buying prices from farmers or fishermen)

Page 12: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network12

Fingerling prices for various marine finfish in Indonesia (April 11-19, 2004)

Details Bali (Rupiah) Lampung (Rupiah) Comment Milkfish egg 0.5/egg - April 11-19, 2004 (low demand) Milkfish egg 5/egg - August 23, 2004 Milkfish 7-10/fish - 1 cm fry at farm gate Milkfish 10-15/fish - 1 cm fry at exporter Milkfish 500-800/fish - 10 cm fish for tuna bait Tiger grouper egg 1/egg - Humpback grouper egg 2.5-4.0/egg - Tiger grouper 700-750/cm - RIM-Gondol Tiger grouper 1,000/cm 1,000/cm Humpback grouper 1,000-1,250/cm - RIM-Gondol Humpback grouper 1,500/cm 1,000-1,250/cm Humpback grouper 2,000/cm - August 23, 2004 Giant grouper - 40,000/fish 4 cm fingerling imported from Taiwan

Farm gate prices for marine finfish in Lampung, Indonesia

English common name Scientific name US$/Kg Comments Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 5.00-6.50 Live Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 7.00-10.50 Live Humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis 15.00-40.00 Live Mangrove snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus 3.00 Live Areolate grouper Epinephelus areolatus 6.50 Live Giant grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus 12.00-15.00 Live Coral trout Plectropomus leopardus 19.00-20.00 Live, Rupiah 175,000 Barred-cheek coral trout Plectropomus maculatus 17.00 Live, Rupiah 150,000 Squaretail coral trout Plectropomus areolatus 14.00 Live, Rupiah 125,000 Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus undulatus 45.00 Live

Market prices at the integrated fish market & restaurant model, Jakarta

English common name Scientific name US$/Kg Comments Mix of small size grouper species

Plectropomus leopardus; Cephalopholis sonnerati

2.40 0.2-1.0 kg chilled fish, price is given in Rupiah 21,500

Blacksaddled coral grouper

Plectropomus levis 28.90 Price is given in Rupiah 7,450/ons(chilled), so per kg price in Rupiah is 260,000

Grouper fillet - 8.90 Price is given in Rupiah 80,000, and species is not identified

Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus undulatus 66.70 Live fish at Rupiah 600,000/kg Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 2.40 Chilled small fish

Live reef marine finfish prices at seafood restaurant in Bali, Indonesia

English common name Scientific name US$/Kg* Comments Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 98.00 Rupiah 25,000/once Coral trout species Plectropomus spp. 196.00 Rupiah 50,000/once Blackspot tuskfish Choerodon schoenleinii 137.20 Rupiah 35,000/once Reef stonefish Synanceia verrucosa 98.00 Rupiah 25,000/once Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus undulatus 294.00 Rupiah 75,000/once Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 78.40 Rupiah 20,000/once Wrasse – mixed species 137.20 Rupiah 35,000/once *Note: These prices seem excessively high, but this restaurant is targeting the tourist market, and the prices are inclusive of cooking cost. Most species are wild caught and small sizes, less than 1 kg.

Page 13: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 13

Marine finfish markets in Hong KongSih Yang Sim1, Paolo Montaldi2, Alessandro Montaldi2 and Hassanai Kongkeo1

1. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, PO Box 1040, Kasetsart Post Office, Bangkok 10903, Thailand.2. Terre des hommes Italy (TDH). c/o Andaman Sea Fisheries Research and Development Center, 77 Sakdidej Road,

Wichit, Amphur Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand

This article summarises findings from afield trip to Hong Kong conducted aspart of a regional survey of NACA/TDH (Terre des Hommes Foundation -Italy) in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish AquacultureNetwork. The survey was conductedon June 3-4, 2004 and was facilitatedby the Agriculture, Fisheries andConservation Department (AFCD)Hong Kong.

Hong Kong with a population of 6.8million is one of the most importantconsumption markets for live marinefinfish in the world, particular grouperspecies (family Serranidae). The annualper capita consumption of fish iscurrently around 37 kg, a decline fromprevious levels of 40-45 kg prior to the1997 Asian economic crisis and the2003 SARS outbreak.

Hong Kong is also the main entryhub for live marine finfish to Chinamarkets via Guangzhou. Hong Kong

adopts a free trade policy, with somelimits set by food safety monitoringand CITES. Importers are required toprovide trade declarations using theHong Kong Import & ExportClassification List and its regularlyrevised harmonised codes.

In 2003, the total imports wereestimated at around 194,000 tons forseafood (including 80,000 tons ofshellfish, 100,000 tons of marine fishand 12,000 tons of live fish).

Approximately 35% (67,000 tons) ofseafood was re-exported.

Although the live fish segmentconstitutes a relatively small volume ofthe total annual marine fish imports itaccounted for over US$ 82 million invalue with average prices ranging fromUS$ 4.10-18.30/kg. In the 1990s, rapideconomic growth and an increase in thenumber of tourists led to a sharpgrowth in live marine fish imports to20,000-25,000 tons. However, marinefish consumption has subsequently

Traders weighing the live marine fish in live fish transport vessel at Kwun Tong market

Country Quantity (mt)

% Average price (US$/kg)

Country subtotal (US$ million)

Thailand 3,182 30 4.10 13.10 China 2,605 25 1.80 4.70 Philippines 1,585 15 12.60 20.00 Australia 1,137 11 18.30 20.90 Indonesia 1,000 9 15.60 15.70 Malaysia 644 6 10.90 7.00

Table 1: Major sources of live marine fish imports to Hong Kong (Source: FMO)

Page 14: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network14

declined due to the impact of the 1997Asian economic crisis and SARS.Consumption has stabilized recentlyand is now starting to increase again.The 2003 Fish Marketing Organization(FMO) figures for live fish imports frommajor suppliers are presented in table 1.

The FMO figures highlight thedifferential role of the major suppliers.Thailand is historically the leader interms of quantity, but with low averagevalue products (mainly Epinepheluscoioides). China is emerging as bulksupplier of lower value fish such asmangrove snappers, and is growing interms of overall volume. Other regionalsources such as Australia, Indonesiaand the Philippines have higheraverage prices as traditional keyexporters of top value, mostly wildgroupers such as wrasse, humpbackgrouper and coral trout.

According to the FMO the bulk ofthe live fish imports arrives by air(64%), followed by road transport(20%), fishing vessels (12%), longdistance fish carriers (4%) and rivercarriers (0.01%).

Local production of livemarine finfish species

There are 1,160 small-scale farmscovering a total of 209 hectare of watersurface areas in 29 specially designatedFish Culture Zones of Hong Kong andculturing more than 18 marine finfishspecies. These species are mainly fromfamily of seabream, snapper, grouperand others. The marine finfish speciesfarmed in Hong Kong are listed in table2. As the price for seabream hasdecreased through the years, farmershave shifted to culture more valuablespecies such as grouper. In 2003 localcultured fish production was 1,500 tonsfor a value of US$ 9.7 million,accounting for about 10% of the livefish consumption in Hong Kong. Theremaining 90% of seafood consumed inHong Kong is imported, and live marinefish species mainly originate fromAsian countries. Green groupers (42%)accounted for the bulk of Hong Kong’s1,500 tons of production followed bysnappers (28%) and others suchamberjack, cobia, pompano (17%), tigergroupers (9%) and other groupers(4%). The competitive edge for localproducers is their proximity to themarket, which provides better survival

Ma Wan Fish Culture Zone at southern side of Hong Kong, with a cluster of smallwooden rafts with floating cages.

Live fish stall at Aberdeen market using sandfilter to keep the water at the holdingfacility in good condition

Wholesale trader stall at Kwun Tong with mix variety of marine fish

Page 15: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 15

depending on the species and the sizeof the fingerlings stocked.

Fish MarketingOrganization (FMO)

The Fish Marketing Organization(FMO) is a self-financing organization,under the supervision of theAgriculture, Fisheries andConservation Department of HongKong (AFCD-HK). It was establishedunder the Marine Fish MarketingOrdinance to provide facilities andservices for the seafood trade and itcurrently operates seven majorwholesale fish markets in Kwun Tong,Shau Ket Wan, Sai Kung, Tai Po,Aberdeen, Cheung Shawan and CastlePeak. FMO markets conduct wholesaleseafood trade through registeredagents.

The major markets for live fish areKwun Tong, Aberdeen and CheungSha Wan for a total of 35 stalls withregistered agents importing liveseafood from the Asia-Pacific region.However, several independent tradersreportedly operate in Hong Kong withtheir own facilities outside the FMO. In2003 the total trade through the FMOnetwork was 42,000 tons of freshseafood and 4,000 tons of live seafood,or approximately one fourth of the251,000 tons estimated as the totalconsumption in Hong Kong.

Kwun Tong Wholesale FishMarket

The Kwun Tong Wholesale FishMarket is historically the main live fishtrading venue and hosts the office ofthe Hong Kong Chamber of SeafoodMerchants. Our visit to the stalls atKwun Tong provided a visualconfirmation of the broad diversity ofthe marine finfish species traded. Theaverage prices quoted for commongrouper species during our visit wereUS$ 10.00/kg for E. coioides, US$15.00-20.00/kg for E. fuscoguttatus, US$17.00/kg for large (10 kg) E.lanceolatus. Lower trophic level fishcommonly sighted in the display tankswere scats (US$ 7.15/kg) and severalspecies of parrotfish (S. rivulatus, S.prasiognathos, S. ghobban). It wasreported that for some parrotfish theprice could reach as high as US$20.00-40.00/kg because mortality easily

Common English Name Scientific Name Gold-lined seabream Sparus sarba Yellowfin seabream Acanthopagrus latus Black seabream Acanthopagrus schlegeli Mangrove red snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus Russell’s snapper Lutjanus russellii Malabar red snapper Lutjanus malabaricus Cobia Rachycentron canadum Pompano Trachinotus blochii Greater amberjack Seriola dumerili Orange-spotted (or green) grouper Epinephelus coioides Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Brown-spotted grouper Epinephelus chlorostigma Hong Kong grouper Epinephelus akaara Areolate grouper Epinephelus areolatus White blotched grouper Epinephelus multinotatus Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus Head grunt Pomadasys kaakan Japanese croaker Collichthys niveatus

Table 2: Marine finfish species recorded under culture in Hong Kong

Parrotfish on display at the trading floor in Aberdeen market

in the restaurant’s displayed aquariumtanks and the possibility to caterdirectly to restaurants.

The majority of the marine fishfingerlings used for grow-out areimported from various countries suchas PR China, Thailand, Philippines,

Malaysia, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei andIndonesia. Annual marine fishfingerlings imported accounted to 11million pieces valued at around US$5million. Only seabream fingerlings arecollected from local waters. The cultureperiod ranges from 1-3 years,

Table 3: Ex-farm prices for marine finfish species in Hong Kong

Species HK$/kg Comment Green groupers 83.30 Size 300-500 gram/fish, original price is

HK$ 50.00/cattie (1 year culture) Green groupers 150.00 Size 1.5 kg/fish, original price is HK$

90.00/cattie (2 years) Tiger grouper 167.00-333.00 Size 1.2 kg/fish, original price is HK$

100.00-200.00/cattie

Page 16: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network16

English Common Names Scientific Names Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus undulatus Triple tail wrasse Cheilinus trilobatus Blackspot tuskfish Choerodon schoenleinii Green grouper Epinephelus coioides Aerolate grouper Epinephelus aerolatus Longfin grouper Epinephelus quoyanus Malabar grouper Epinephelus malabaricus Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus Potato cod Epinephelus tukula Giant grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus Red grouper Epinephelus akaara Yellow grouper Epinephelus awoara Tomato hind Cephalopolis sonnerati Peacock grouper Cephalopolis argus Humpback grouper Cromileptes altivelis Coral trout Plectropomus leopardus Blue spotted grouper Plectropomus maculatus Coronation trout Variola albimarginata Slender grouper Anyperodon leucogrammicus Emperor red snapper Lutjanus sebae Mangrove snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus Russel’s snapper Lutjanus russelli Yellow spot grunt Plectorhinchus cinctus Black porgy Acanthopagrus schlegeli Yellowfin seabream Acanthopagrus latus White seabream Acanthopagrus berda Goldlined seabream Sparus sarba Red seabream Pagrus major Cobia Rachycentron canadum Scat Scatophagus argus Spotted sicklefin Drepane punctata Spinefoot Siganus fusescens White spotted rabbitfish Siganus canaliculatus Chinese filefish Monacanthus chinensis Spotbelly batfish Platax teira Yellow scale parrot Scarus ghobban Surf parrot Scarus rivulatus Quoy’s parrot Scarus quoyi Red speckled parrot Cetoscarus bicolor Pompano Trachinotus blochii Turbot Scophthalmus maximus Flounder Pseudorhombus spp. Tongue sole Cynoglossus spp. Brown banded catshark Chiloscyllium punctatum Grey bamboo shark Chiloscyllium griseum Snake moray Ophichthys spp. Pike moray Muraenesox spp. Giant moray Gymnothorax spp.

occurs during shipment and storage inaquariums.

We observed more than 48 marinefinfish species in the aquarium displaysof the various agents at the KwunTong Wholesale Fish Market duringour visit, listed in Table 4.

Aberdeen Fish WholesaleMarket

Aberdeen Fish Wholesale Market islocated on the southern side of HongKong island. The market is the largestin Hong Kong and was busy duringour visit with several fish carrier boatsmoored in front of the market and livefish transport trucks moving in andout.

The main market stalls consist ofbatteries of aquarium tanks lined inseries in the main auction building,allowing a straightforward inspectionof the seafood displayed. An additionalseries of stalls equipped with liveseafood holding tanks occupy an openarea along the quay just outside themain building. The variety of the livemarine finfish displayed here is similarto the species observed at the KwunTong market. The prices for the livemarine finfish are listed in Table 5.

Market prices for marinefinfish at live seafood

restaurants in Hong Kong

The marine finfish diversity in theHong Kong consumption of live marinefinfish could be observed at a clusterof seafood restaurants located at LeiYue Mun close to the Kwun TongWholesale Fish Market and at a largefloating restaurant (Jambo) near theAberdeen Wholesale Fish Market. Therestaurant prices (cooked prices) forlive marine finfish at these two areasare listed in Table 6.

Seafood sector at WellcomeDepartment Store, Kowloon

The fresh chilled seafood selection ondisplay at the Wellcome Supermarket inKowloon was very basic. All productswere portion size and presented in film-sealed polystyrene trays. The mainspecies and prices that were availableare listed in Table 7.

Table 4: Species on display at the Kwun Tong Wholesale Fish Market

Summary

The Kwun Tong and Aberdeen marketsare active in trading activities and thereare many live marine food fish speciesbeing trade on daily basis. Thefacilities for holding the live marinefood fish here are equipped with sandfilter to keep the water quality at

optimum level. The consumerspreference for live marine food fish canbe observed at various live seafoodrestaurants at nearby area which arestocked with a wide variety of highvalue and middle price species.

Page 17: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 17

English Names Scientific Names HK$/Kg Comment Green grouper Epinephelus coioides 166.67 Original price at HK$100.00/cattie (1.5 kg fish) Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus 116.67 Original price at HK$ 70.00/cattie (ciguatera fear) Green wrasse Cheilinus trilobatus 133.33 Original price at HK$ 80.00/cattie Cobia Rachycentron canadum 50.00 Original price at HK$ 30.00/cattie Pompano Trachynotus blochii 33.33 Original price at HK$ 20.00/cattie Red snapper Lutjanus argentimaculatus 58.33 Original price at HK$ 35.00/cattie Scat Scatophagus argus 80.00 Original price at HK$ 48.00/cattie Mullet Mugil spp. 20.00 Original price at HK$ 12.00/cattie Yellow scale parrot Scarus ghobban 75.00 Original price at HK$ 45.00/cattie Red speckled parrot Cetoscarus bicolor 50.00 Original price at HK$ 30.00/cattie Rabbitfish Siganus fusescens 20.00 Original price at HK$ 12.00/cattie

Table 5: Prices of live marine fish at Aberdeen Fish Wholesale Market

Species HK$/Fish HK$/Kg* Price HK/pound So mei fish (Napoleon wrasse) 1,800 1,327 600 Spotted grouper (P. areolatus) 780 664 300 Green wrasse 800 664 300 Red coat (mangrove snapper) 250 - - Common grouper 250 - - Snapper 500 425 192 Teeth parrot fish 550 531 240 Potato grouper (small size) 1,000 - - Dark/Big green grouper 500 - - Cabrilla (humpback grouper) 2,200 1,327 600 Spotted grouper (P. leopardus) 1,380 929 420 Parrot fish (green & yellow) 550 531 240 Red grouper 1,380 929 420 Yellow fin snapper - 584 264 Horse head - 584 264 Stone fish - 531 240 Yellow fin pomfret - 266 120 Spade grouper - 797 360 *This is based and converted from original price in HK$/pound

Table 6: Restaurant prices for live marine finfish at Lei Yue Mun

A view of the live seafood restaurant areain Lei Yue Mun

Live fish transport vessel docking at KwunTong market

Below: Pompano on display at the tradingfloor in Aberdeen market

Table 7: Species & prices of marine finfish at Wellcome Supermarket, Kowloon

Product Details HK$/kg Nile tilapia Whole 27.8 Seabass Lates calcarifer (small size) 50.9 Coral trout Plectropomus leopardus 95 Silver pomfret Pampus argenteus 50

* 1 cattie = 600g.

Page 18: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network18

Marine finfish aquaculture in ChinaZhigang Zhou PhD and Zhengnan Wang PhD

Feed Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No.12 ZhongGuanCun South Street, Haidian,Beijing 100081, China, Tel: +86-(0) 10-62136896, Fax: +86-(0)10-68975127, Email: [email protected]

Marine aquaculture, regarded as the“fourth aquaculture revolution” inChina, is increasing rapidly with a totaloutput of 12.5 million tons from 1.5million hectares of farming area (Figure1). Marine finfish aquaculture is themost active component in marineaquaculture and has increased fromless than 200,000 tons in 1996 to over500,000 tons in 2003. Although the totalfarming areas for marine finfish onlyincreased by 15% during that periodthe output jumped by 185% (Figure 2).This may be the result of improvedaquaculture techniques and productionefficiency for marine finfish farming,which is evident by the increase inyield per hectare from 2.75 tonnes to6.84 tonnes between 1996 and 2003.

There are several major areas alongthe coast of China for farming marinefinfish; from the south to the norththese are: Hainan Province (Figure 3);Guangxi Province (Figure 4);Guangdong Province (Figure 5); FujianProvince (Figure 6); Zhejiang Province(Figure 7); Jiangsu Province (Figure 8);Sandong Province (Figure 9); TianjinCity (Figure 10); Hebei Province(Figure 11); and Liaoning Province(Figure 12). Among these areas,Guangdong Province is the biggestproducer of marine finfish in China interms of production and culture areas.In 2001 Guangdong produced a totaloutput of 230,732 t from 42,154 hectaresof farming areas (Figure 5). Hainan,Jiangsu and Tianjin have lower outputswith less than 10,000 tonnes producedper year between 1996 -2001. However,Hainan has the biggest potential fordevelopment of marine finfishaquaculture in China due to the largeareas available for marine aquacultureand good quality seawater.

Marine finfish species farmed inChina during 2003 are listed in Table 1,which provides detailed statistics onthe marine finfish species produced in2003. Sea bass accounted for 15% ofthe total marine finfish output with78,500 tonnes. Species with a farmedoutput exceeding 25,000 tonnes in 2003were various grouper, flounder, sea

bream, red fish, large yellow croakerand sea bass. Grouper is the mostdiverse group of cultured marine finfishspecies in China, with the followingspecies under culture: Epinephelusmerra, E. fario, E. akaara, E. awoara,E. fuscoguttatus, E. microdon, E.fasciatomaculatus , E. septemfsaciatus,E. moara, E. malabaricus, E. coioides,E. tauvina, and Cromileptes altivelis.It is anticipated that farming of grouperspecies in China will increase in thenear future, as demand and price arehigh. Some shrimp farmers are alsoconsidering switching to grouperfarming following the shrimp anti-dumping case with America.

In China, tilapia and shrimp are thetwo biggest farmed export commodities.Cultured marine finfish contribute to asmall percentage of export earnings andmost of marine finfish are consumeddomestically in Hong Kong, Macao,Guangzhou, Shanghai and other majorcities in China. Live marine finfish arepreferred by many Chinese consumersand therefore command better marketprices. Prices of marine finfish alsodepend very much on the distancerequired to transport fish from farmingareas, fish size, and the differentmonths of the year, particularly duringfestive events. Some extraordinaryevents such as SARS and AvianInfluenza also had an impact on marinefinfish consumption and demand, thusthe prices. The prices of Sparus

macrocephelus (individual biomass>300g) in Shanghai and Hangzhou arelisted in Figure 13 and Figure 14. Pricesin Hangzhou are always higher than inShanghai because the transportationcosts are greater. During the AvianInfluenza period, most Chinese avoidedconsuming poultry and switched toaquatic animals, driving prices uprapidly in both Shanghai andHangzhou markets during May-June,2004. The market prices for Latescalcarifer in Quanzhou and Suzhou isshown in Figure 15, displayingincreasing price trends during theAvian Influenza period.

Although the market demand formarine finfish in China is high andfarming technology has improved inrecent years, it is not without problemsand constraints. The main issues are ashortage of fingerlings, particularly forgrouper species; high investmentcosts; limited international markets;pollution and environmental issues;disease and the availability of goodcommercial feeds. Therefore, it isimportant for China to develop soundhatchery techniques and nutritionallycomplete feed to support increasingproduction from marine finfishaquaculture. China is interested incooperating with research institutes inthe region on marine finfishaquaculture research and development.

Species Output (t) Scientific names Plaice 5,355 Kareius bicoloratus; Verasper moseri; V. variegates Puffer 10,141 Fugu rubripes; F. flavidus; F. pseudommus; F.

bimaculatus; F. obscurus; F. xanthopterus Amberjack 11,572 Seriola aureovittata; S. dumerili Cobia 16,481 Rachycentron canadum Grouper 26,790 Epinephelus merra; E. fario; E. akaara; E. awoara; E.

fuscoguttatus; E. microdon; E. fasciatomaculosus; E. corallicola; E. septemfasciatus; E. moara; E. malabaricus; E. coioides; E. tauvina; Cromileptes altivelis

Flounder 36,227 Paralichthy olivaceus; Scophthalmus maximus Sea bream 42,276 Pagrosomus major; Sparus macrocephelus; S. latus; S.

berda; Rhabdosargus sarba; Hapalogenys nitens Red fish 44,925 Sciaenops ocellatus Large yellow croaker 58,684 Pseudosciaena crocea Sea bass 78,346 Lateolabrax japonicus; Lates calcarifer; Parapristipoma

trilineatum; Pomadasys hasta Total 519,157

Table.1: Cultured marine finfish output in China, 2003

Page 19: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 19

Figure 1: Marine Aquaculture Output and

Culture Area in China for 1996 to 2003

0

2000000

4000000

6000000

8000000

10000000

12000000

14000000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Year

To

ns

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 4: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Guangxi from 1996 to

2001

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 7: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Zhejiang from 1996 to

2001

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 10: Marine Finfish Output and

Culture Area for Tianjian from 1996 to

2001

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

Hecta

re

Output Culture Area

Figure 2: Marine Finfish Output and

Culture Area in China for 1996 to 2003

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Year

To

ns

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 5: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Guangdong from

1996 to 2001

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

38000

40000

42000

44000

46000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 8: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Jiangsu from 1996 to

2001

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 11: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Hebei from 1996 to

2001

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 3: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Hainan from 1996 to

2001

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

500

1000

1500

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 6: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Fujian from 1996 to

2001

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 9: Marine Finifsh Output and

Culture Area for Sandong from 1996

to 2001

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Figure 12: Marine Finfish Output and

Culture Area for Liaoning from 1996 to

2001

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Year

To

ns

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Hecta

res

Output Culture Area

Page 20: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network20

Spawning andlarval rearing of

coral trout atGondolKetut Suwirya

Coral trout Plectopomus leopardus is apopular candidate for mariculture in theAsia-Pacific region. The ResearchInstitute for Mariculture (RIM) atGondol, Bali, Indonesia, is currentlyresearching the development ofhatchery technology for this species,known locally as sunu. Ninety wildbroodstock, ranging in size from 1.3 to3.5 kg, were collected in 2003 and 2004.Sixty broodstock were maintained in a150 m3 concrete tank, and the remainderin a 100 m3 concrete tank – both tankswere supplied with flow-throughseawater supply at ambienttemperature. Coral trout broodstockwere fed trash fish and squid (2:1 ratio).The fish commenced spawning afterseven months in the broodstock tanks,and produced between 500,000 and2,500,000 eggs/day (both tankscombined) for 3–7 days every month.

Fertilized eggs were stocked in a 5m3 concrete larval rearing tank.Starting on the second day of hatching,larvae were fed with rotifers at adensity of 5 individuals/ml. Rotiferdensity in the larval rearing tank wasmaintained at 10–30 individuals/ml untilday. From day nineteen larvae were fedArtemia nauplii until metamorphosis(35 days after hatch). Juvenile coraltrout were fed live tiny shrimp. At thetime of writing, there are still a total of195 juvenile coral trout at RIM. Thesefish are being used to assess thegeneral grow-out husbandry of thisspecies.

A hatchery-reared juvenile Plectropomusleopardus

Figure 15: The median prices of Lates calcarifer (250-500g) in NanhuanFishery Market in Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province

0

5

10

15

20

25

12/2/

2003

1/2/20

04

2/2/20

04

3/2/20

04

4/2/20

04

5/2/20

04

6/2/20

04

7/2/20

04

8/2/20

04

9/2/20

04

Date

Pric

e: Y

uan

RM

B/k

gFigure 13: The median prices for Sparus macrocephelus (>300g) in JinjiangFarm Produce Market in Hangzhou City of Zhejiang Province

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

9/4/20

03

10/4/

2003

11/4/

2003

12/4/

2003

1/4/20

04

2/4/20

04

3/4/20

04

4/4/20

04

5/4/20

04

6/4/20

04

7/4/20

04

8/4/20

04

9/4/20

04

Date

Pric

e: Y

uan

RM

B/k

g

Figure 14: The median prices of Sparus macrocephalus (>500g) in TongchuanFishery Market in Shanghai

40

42

44

46

48

50

52

54

56

11/4/

2003

11/18/200

3

12/2/

2003

12/16/200

3

12/30/200

3

1/13/

2004

1/27/

2004

2/10/

2004

2/24/

2004

3/9/200

4

3/23/2

004

4/6/200

4

4/20/2

004

5/4/200

4

5/18/2

004

6/1/200

4

6/15/2

004

Date

Pric

e: Y

uan

RM

B/k

g

Page 21: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 21

First successful hatchery production of Napoleon wrasseat Gondol Research Institute for Mariculture, Bali

Bejo Slamet and Jhon H. Hutapea

Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinusundulatus) is one of the mostexpensive live fish for consumption inAsian markets, especially Hong Kong,Singapore and China. Nowadays, itscapture and export is protected in manyAsian countries, including Indonesia.The Research Institute for Maricultureat Gondol, Bali, Indonesia, initiatedresearch on hatchery productiontechnology for Napoleon wrasse in1997. Captive broodstock beganspawning in 1998, and numerousattempts were made to rear the larvae.After many years of research ongonadal development, spawning andlarval rearing, RIM researchers finallyproduced 120 juvenile Napoleonwrasse in 2003. This is the firstreported hatchery production of thisspecies.

Rearing Napoleon larvae is moredifficult compared to other marinefinfish such as snapper and grouper.The difficulty reflects the small size ofthe newly hatched larvae and theirsmall mouth gape. Egg diameter is only620–670 µm, total length of newlyhatched larvae is 1.5–1.7 mm, andmouth gape at initial feeding is only133 µm.

RIM researchers attribute thesuccessful larval rearing to the

Figure 2: Egg production by Napoleon wrasse broodstock at Research Institute for Mariculture from 2000 to 2003.

Figure 1: Growth pattern of Napoleon wrasse larvae

provision of high quality feed tobroodstock, resulting in good qualityeggs. In addition, researchers wereable to provide good quality andappropriately sized live food (40-80µm)to the larvae during the initial feedingperiod before the yolk and oil globulewere exhausted.

RIM researchers note that growth ofNapoleon wrasse is extremely slow; ataround 6 months of age the juvenileswere only 5–6 cm total length. Thisfeature may limit their attractiveness foraquaculture, despite the high price ofthis species in the live reef food fishtrade.

Total Number of eggs (x 1000)

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

Aug-0

0

Oct

-00

Dec

-00

Feb

-01

Apr-

01

Jun-0

1

Aug-0

1

Oct

-01

Dec

-01

Feb

-02

Apr-

02

Jun-0

2

Aug-0

2

Oct

-02

Dec

-02

Feb

-03

Apr-

03

Jun-0

3

Month

Nu

mb

er

of

Eg

gs

Total Number

of eggs (x 1000)

-

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

D-0

D-3

D-5

D-8

D-1

4

D-1

7

D-2

5

D-3

5

D-4

7

D-7

5

D-1

00

Age (day)

TL

(m

m)

F

l

o

a

t

i

n

g

Free swimming

Bottom & hiding

Page 22: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network22

New ACIAR project – Economic and Market Analysis of theLive Reef Food Fish Trade in Asia-Pacific

Geoffrey Muldoon1, Liz Peterson2, Brian Johnston3

1. CRC Reef Research Centre Limited, PO Box 772, Townsville QLD 4810, Australia. Email: [email protected]. Advanced Choice Economics P/L, 30 Dean Road, Bateman WA 6150, Australia. Email: [email protected].

3. Asia-Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. Email: [email protected].

In 1998 the Australian Centre forInternational Agricultural Research(ACIAR) funded a project to look at the“Sustainable Management of the LiveReef Fish Trade-Based Fishery inSolomon Islands”. A review of thisproject, which concluded in 2001,indicated that detailed economicanalysis of marketing of the live reeffish trade would provide significantbenefits to a range of stakeholders(ANREI/1998/094). Subsequently, itwas acknowledged that any economicanalysis should be extended toincorporate the whole Asia-Pacific andinclude the key Asian producers of livereef food fish (LRFF), which have alonger and more active history in thetrade than the Pacific Islands. As suchthe study will focus on supply from:Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, PapuaNew Guinea, Vietnam, Fiji, and SolomonIsland (although not presently asupplying country, Solomon Islandshas in the past supported a LRFFfishery and there is potential for it toreopen in the future) Other keysuppliers such as the Philippines willbe incorporated through theinvolvement of multilateral agenciessuch as the WorldFish Center inMalaysia and the Network ofAquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific(NACA).

In July 2003, a nine-month feasibilitystudy was commissioned by ACIAR,with a view to developing a morecomprehensive proposal. Thefeasibility study undertook a review ofa number of aspects relating to thetrade, including: availability of price,quantity and trade data; suitablemethods for quantifying short andlong-term demand and supply of livereef fish; suitable economic frameworksfor measuring the beneficiaries ofimprovements in demand or supply;and key cost and risk components ofthe marketing chain. In addition, anetwork of potential collaboratingorganizations and universities were

identified, such as the Secretariat of thePacific Community (SPC), theWorldFish Center and BogorUniversity (Indonesia).

Following the feasibility study, aproposal for a larger 2-½ year projectwas submitted to ACIAR. This project;“An Economic and Market Analysis ofthe Live Reef Fish Food Trade in Asia-Pacific”; commenced in July 2004 with aresearch team comprising Dr. BrianJohnston as project leader, Dr.Elizabeth Petersen, and Mr. GeoffreyMuldoon. It will also include researchcollaborators Dr. Mahfuzuddin Ahmed,Dr. Madan Dey and Dr. ReohlanoBriones from the WorldFish Center inMalaysia, Mr. Being Yeeting from SPCin Noumea, Dr. Akhmad Fauzi fromBogor University and Dr. SonnyKoeshendrajana from the ResearchInstitute for Fisheries ProductProcessing and Social Economics inIndonesia.

Aquaculture has been identified asboth an alternative livelihood toengaging in often-destructive fishingpractices and as a means of meetingfuture demand for the “higher-value”grouper species when many fish stocksin Southeast Asia are showing signs ofsevere depletion. It is estimated thatapproximately 40 per cent of all LRFF inthe trade are supplied fromaquaculture, although the majority ofthese fish come from grow-out of wild-caught juveniles to market size. Anybenefits from substituting wild-caughtwith cultured species depend on howsuccessfully the mariculture industryrelieves its dependence on wild stocksfor juveniles and trash fish for feedthrough increased hatchery productionand development of new diets (Sadovyet al. 2004). Moreover, the marketimpacts, and specifically price impacts,of this substitution may havesignificant effects on fisher income.

ACIAR provides funding assistanceto a number of mariculture projects oflive reef fish species in Indonesia and

Vietnam1, such as one looking atimproved technology for hatchery andgrow-out of marine finfish in the Asia-Pacific (FIS/2002/077). These projectshave identified a need for economicanalysis to quantify key supply anddemand relationships in the market,especially with respect to assessingthe potential contribution ofmariculture in assisting the long-termsustainability of the trade. Linkageshave been established with thesemariculture-related projects and we willbe collaborating closely with them.

Project overview

The trade in LRFF is largelyunregulated, which has led to someundesirable biological, social andeconomic consequences. Theanticipated research outputs from thisproject will benefit industryparticipants and management agenciesalike, for both existing and potentialfisheries. Empirical modelling of supplyand demand will enable further analysisof who the major beneficiaries are likelyto be from new technologies, economicgrowth or policy options aimed atimproving market performance by, forexample, regulation of fishing effort orremoving inefficiencies and distortionsalong the market chain. Another keyoutput will be the inclusion of key costand revenue components along themarket chain, including key risk factors,into a benefit-cost model. Aspreadsheet model of the market chainwill be constructed that will aid capturefishery managers and the aquaculturesector in assessing the future viabilityof LRFF capture and aquaculturefisheries in their countries2

The study will focus on thefollowing supplying countries:Indonesia, Philippines, Australia,Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Vietnam,Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Duringthe feasibility study phase of thisproject, collaborative partnerships were

Page 23: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 23

established with the WorldFish Center,SPC and Bogor University. The first ishosting a regional collaborative projectinvolving mainland China, Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand andVietnam, looking at “Fish Supply andDemand in Asia”, while the latter twowill assist with information ondevelopments in LRFF fisheries inSoutheast Asia and the Pacific.

The overall aim of the project is toenhance the sustainable economicdevelopment of the live reef food fishtrade, through economic analysis ofpolicy options for improving marketperformance. The main beneficiaries ofthis research are likely to be small-scaleand subsistence fishers in supplyingcountries and government agenciescharged with the sustainablemanagement of their wild-caughtfisheries and investigating thepotential for mariculture. The specificresearch objectives of the project areto:• Quantify short- and long-term

demand of LRFF in Hong Kong andsouthern mainland China sourcedfrom the Asia-Pacific, includingdeveloping countries;

• quantify short- and long-termsupply of LRFF from wild-caughtand aquaculture production sourcedfrom Asia-Pacific, includingdeveloping countries;

• measure the key cost and riskcomponents of the marketing chain;

• quantify likely future changes insupply and demand for LRFF arisingfrom new technology, managementpractices and economic growth, andto identify the beneficiaries of thesedevelopments;

• identify highly-valued productattributes (e.g. colour, taste, texture)of wild-caught and aquaculturedLRFF and to examine thesepreferences through panel tasteevaluation tests;

• identify possible policy options toimprove market performance such ascatch and effort controls andadoption of improved technologiesin production, storage andtransportation; and

• build capacity in economicassessment throughout the Asia-Pacific in order to provide andcoordinate economic research anddisseminate information on the tradeutilising the existing LRFF research

and development networks (NACA,SPC, WorldFish Center).

Key research outputs of the projectare:• Empirical modelling of supply and

demand, taking account wherepossible of new technologies,changing consumption patterns andincome growth;

• policy analysis for improving marketoutcomes for the industry in variousstages of the marketing chain(including options for fisheryregulation) and identification of thebeneficiaries of marketimprovements;

• a spreadsheet model of all costs andrevenues along the market chain,including risk factors, for Australiaand two Southeast Asian and twoPacific supply countries to aidfishery managers and theaquaculture sector to assess thefuture viability of LRFF capture andaquaculture fisheries in theircountries; and

• dissemination of results of consumerpreference surveys comparingattributes of wild-caught andaquacultured LRFF products toother ACIAR and NACA maricultureresearch projects in order to improvehatchery production technologiesand the development of new diets.

The information from these outputs willfeed into a number of forums over thetwo-year course of the project. Theseinclude research workshops to be heldin conjunction with key researchcollaborators in the region, workshopsheld by the ACIAR MaricultureGrouper project, the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC)Fisheries Working Group project todevelop Industry Standards3, theannual conferences of the AustralianAgricultural and Resource EconomicsSociety (AARES) and the biennialinternational conference of theInternational Institute of FisheriesEconomics and Trade (IIFET). Thereare also good extension opportunitiesfor the outputs of the project throughthe SPC Live Reef Fish extensionnetwork.

Anyone interested in finding outmore about the project or discussing itwith project participants is encouragedto contact the authors.

Footnotes

1. Projects include FIS/1997/073“Improved hatchery and grow-outtechnology for grouper aquaculturein the Asia-Pacific region”, FIS/2002/077 “Improved hatchery and grow-out technology for marine finfishaquaculture in Asia-Pacific region”and FIS/2003/027 “Environmentalimpacts of marine cage aquaculturein Australia and Indonesia”.

2. In A Collaborative Strategy toAddress the Live Reef Food FishTrade (Graham 2001), developing acost-effective method for assessingthe viability of export-based LRFFfisheries was identified as a keyobjective.

3. For an overview of the IndustryStandards project see the article byKusumaatmadja et al. in theprevious issue of this Bulletin(Number 12, February 2004, pages30-33, http://www.spc.org.nc/coastfish/News/LRF/12/index.htm).

References

ANREI/1998/094. Sustainable management of the LRFT-based fishery in Solomon Islands, ACIAR ProjectReview Report. Canberra, Australia: AustralianCentre for International Agricultural Research.

Graham, T. 2001. A collaborative strategy to address thelive reef food fish trade. Asia-Pacific Coastal MarineProgram, Report #0101. Honolulu, Hawaii: TheNature Conservancy.

Petersen, E., Muldoon, G. and Johnston, B. 2004.Economic modelling of the live reef fish trade in Asia-Pacific: Developing an approach and preliminaryanalysis, paper presented to the 48th AnnualConference of the Australian Agricultural andResource Economics Society, 11-13 February 2004,Melbourne.

Page 24: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network24

Binary coded wire tags allow decimal coding (etching) that allows for either batch orindividual identification. Here a tag is being inserted into the lower mandible of fish

Checking for tag retention following unloading of fish in Hong Kong wholesale facility.

Assessment of the use of coded wire tags (CWT) to tracecoral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) in the live reef food

fish tradeMike Rimmer1, Sarah Kistle1 and Geoffrey Muldoon2

1. Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Northern Fisheries Centre, PO Box 5396, Cairns,Queensland 4870, Australia

2. Marine Aquarium Council, c/- Level 6, Northtown Tower, 280 Flinders Mall, Townsville, Queensland 4810, Australia.

This activity forms part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) endorsed project to developIndustry Standards for the Live ReefFood Fish Trade – a collaborativeproject of the Marine AquariumCouncil (MAC) and The NatureConservancy (TNC).

As part of food quality and safetyrequirements of developing thestandard, traceability of the fish frompoint of capture through to therestaurant has been identified byconsumers of the live reef food fishtrade (importers, wholesalers) as anissue of importance. This controlledtagging experiment was undertaken toassess the potential to implementtraceability in the live reef food fishtrade (LRFFT) in terms of ‘tracking’ thefish from point of capture to markets inHong Kong.

Coral trout (mainly Plectropomusleopardus) are captured using hookand line and transported live tocollection facilities in the major portsalong the coast of Queensland. Fromhere they are loaded into live shipmentbins and transported live to HongKong by air, in oxygenated bins. FromHong Kong they are either sold to localrestaurants, or transhipped to mainlandChina.

Tagging, holding andtransport

Tagging

An essential approach to any taggingof high-value marine finfish is that itdoes not significantly devalue the fish.The high wholesale and retail pricesobtained in the live reef food fish tradeare based in part on the aestheticappeal of the fish, which includescolour and general appearance. For thisreason, the use of external tags wasrejected for this experiment as external

tags typically cause significant damageto the skin, and over time often causeunsightly ulcerations. The wounds maydirectly lead to fish health problemsbecause they provide a site forpathogen access.

The tags used in this study werecoded wire tags manufactured byNorthwest Marine Technology Inc.(NMT). Advantages of these tags overtraditional plastic skin-penetrating tagsis that they are (1) small, (2) bio-

Page 25: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 25

Below: Pack-out of live leopard coral trout from land basedholding tanks into oxygenated bins and air transport containersfor transhipment by air to Hong Kong.

compatible, and (3) nothing remains penetrating the skin,thus preventing aesthetic damage and improving fish health.With no protrusion, the tags used in this study allow thewound to heal, removing any infection path.

Coded wire tags were injected in the mandible of eachfish using a Handheld Multi-shot Tag Injector. Fish wereroutinely checked immediately after tagging, using aHandheld Wand Detector to determine that the tag had beeninjected. A full transport bin load of fish (280 fish, ~350 kgtotal weight) was tagged for this study

Due to a technical difficulty with the tag injector, onlyabout 150 fish were tagged on Day 1 with the remaining 130fish being tagged on Day 2. A tagging rate on Day 2 ofaround 150 fish per hour was achieved although the hourlyrate would likely improve with experience.

Pre-transport holding

After tagging, the tagged fish were kept in a 10 m3 circulartank in a recirculating system, and held at about 20oC(standard holding practice for Australian live reef food fishtraders). The 150 fish tagged on Day 1 were checked for tagretention on Day 2 with the retention check takingapproximately 15 minutes for the 150 fish. Of those fishchecked, two had lost tags. Both these fish were retaggedprior to shipment.

Transport

All 280 fish were loaded into a standard live fish transport‘oxygen’ bin. These bins are around 0.8 m3 capacity and cantransport 300–350 kg of live coral trout for around 12 hourstotal transport duration. Oxygen is supplied to the fishduring transport from a self-contained pressurised oxygengas cylinder, and excess oxygen bleeds off from the bin tothe outside atmosphere.

The fish were loaded onto a commercial flight fromCairns, Queensland, Australia to Hong Kong, China, at 0900(GMT+10) and were offloaded in Hong Kong at 1900(GMT+8) for a total transport duration of 12 hours. The fish,once unloaded in Hong Kong were given approximately 30minutes to re-condition and acclimatise before beingchecked for tag retention. The rechecking the entire of batchof 280 in Hong Kong took 30 minutes.

Results and Discussion

Tag retention on receipt in Hong Kong was 278 fish out of280 (96%). There was no mortality of transported coral trout.

It is likely that tag retention could be improved withadditional experience. Some adaptation of the tag placementwas required during the initial part of the tagging exercise sothat the morphology of the fish assisted in the ease ofneedle/tag insertion. This decreased the fish handling timeand reducing the likelihood of damage to the fish as well astagging equipment. The initial tag site was to the centre ofone side of the fish’s mandible, which was found to bedifficult to penetrate, causing the tagging needle to bend.The crevice towards the tip of the fish’s mandible provided anatural guide for the tagging needle and a fleshier area fortag placement.

Page 26: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network26

APEC workshop on environmental principles and policiesin aquaculture administration - workshop statement

More than 90 per cent of the world’saquaculture production is carried outand marketed within the APEC region.This production represented a marketvalue of about 52 billion dollars in year2000. Within the APEC economies, few,if any, other industrial sectors,dominate such a high percentage ofglobal production and commerce.

The continued sustainabledevelopment of aquaculture is crucialfor progress in the region, and can befostered by trade and investments. Asaquaculture production increases at afaster pace than global terrestriallivestock production and harvests fromcapture fisheries, urgent action isrequired by APEC economies todevelop enabling frameworks of lawsand policies that specifically recognizethe unique characteristics ofaquaculture to both protect aquaticenvironments and foster sustainabledevelopment. As the leader in globalaquaculture production and trade,APEC can provide strategicinterventions and support to secure therole of APEC economies.

A workshop to analyze aquaculturepriorities and discuss environmentalprinciples and policies for all APECeconomies was held in Iquique, Chilefrom 1-3 September 2004. Theworkshop was attended byrepresentatives from nine APECEconomies, the WorldFish Center, theCenter for International SustainableDevelopment Law, Aquades (NGO),aquaculture experts from five regionaluniversities, representatives of theprivate sector, individual experts, and a

consultant team that was contracted toprepare the background paper.

The workshop builds on previousAPEC initiatives and responds to theAPEC oceans ministers call in the SeoulOceans Declaration to: “improve andstrengthen market-based instruments,regulations and enforcementmechanisms for the sustainablemanagement of marine resources”;“facilitate, through exchange ofinformation, effective regionalimplementation of global fisheriesinstruments in achieving responsiblefisheries and sustainableaquaculture”; and “strengthencooperation for building capacity,sharing information and expertise,including for marine science andtechnology, responsible fisheries andsustainable aquaculture, and coastaland marine management in anintegrated manner”.

The analysis of the status ofaquaculture development andinformation exchanges clearlydemonstrated the critical importance ofaquaculture and trade in the region andthe corresponding need for expansionof responsible environmentalmanagement for the benefit of currentand future generations. To achievethese goals, the following urgentactions were recommended:1. Develop an APEC Sustainable

Aquaculture Strategy, includingelements for environmentally soundaquaculture, employmentopportunities, product quality andsafety assurances, and promotion ofhigh aquatic animal health and

welfare standards.2. Create a web-based Information

Network and Database onSustainable Aquaculture forimproving stakeholder andinformation exchanges

3. Undertake capacity building(training) for policy-makers toenhance sustainable aquaculturedevelopment and policies in theAsia Pacific Region.

4. Foster collaborative regionalresearch on sustainable aquaculture,leveraging regional expertisetowards mutual recognition orequivalency of standards forproduction and other processeslinked to trade and strengtheningconsumer acceptance andconfidence in aquaculture foodproducts.

As became clear at the workshop, manyAPEC economies are in the process offinalizing or developing new laws andpolicies to ensure more sustainableaquaculture. A joint strategy wouldgreatly benefit their efforts andpresents a unique opportunity forAPEC cooperation. The delegates ofthe workshop call upon APEC tourgently support a meeting of expertsand representatives of APECeconomies to develop a first draftAPEC Sustainable AquacultureStrategy and support the informationexchange, capacity building andregional research objectives. Forfurther information contact Dr AlexBrown, Head of Environmental Affairs,Undersecretariat for Fisheries, Chile.Email: [email protected].

Conclusion

This feasibility study ablydemonstrated the efficacy of tracinglive reef fish from their port of originusing coded wire tags. Whilst thisrepresented a positive step towardaddressing food safety and health inthe consumption of live reef food fish,the characteristics of the LRFFT implythat additional testing be undertaken toidentify the most suitable taggingapproach for widespread application

throughout the LRFFT. Given that thetrade is artisanal in nature, comprises alarge number of fishers who aregeographically dispersed over a widearea, and has numerous sites forlanding and holding fish catches beforeshipment, the tagging method used willneed to be relatively simple to use andinexpensive to operate.

Acknowledgments

We thank Adam, Chris and the rest ofthe staff at Kenneth Aquamarine,Cairns, for their assistance withtagging and checking the fish. Wethank Kenneth Vy (KennethAquamarine Products) for providingsupport and assistance in both Cairnsand Hong Kong. We also thank thestaff of Northwest Marine TechnologyInc. particularly Lee Blankenship andStan Moberley for their support.

Page 27: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 27

Trade and market trends in the live reef food fish tradeGeoffrey Muldoon1, Liz Peterson2, Brian Johnston3

1. CRC Reef Research Centre Limited, PO Box 772, Townsville QLD 4810, Australia. Email: [email protected]. Advanced Choice Economics P/L, 30 Dean Road, Bateman WA 6150, Australia. Email: [email protected].

3. Asia-Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. Email: [email protected].

Introduction

Live reef food fish are currentlysourced from more than 20 countries inthe Asia-Pacific region, some, locatedclose to the principal demand centre ofHong Kong, having been in the tradefor some time while other more distantcountries are only recent, andinfrequent, participants (HKCSD,unpublished data). Total recordedimports of LRFF into Hong Kong,China (Hong Kong) and the People’sRepublic of China (PRC), whiledeclining from the peaks of the late1990s, have remained stable since then(Figure 1).

Recent estimates, based on declaredimports of LRFF into Hong Kong, putthe annual volume of trade into HongKong at 13-14,000 tonnes, with a retailvalue of approximately US$400 million.As there is no requirement for the

approximately 100 Hong Kong licensedlive-fish transport vessels to declareimports entering Hong Kong by sea,these estimates are almost certainlylower than actual imports, which aremore likely to be 15-20,000 t annually.The total regional trade has beenestimated to be as high as 30,000 t peryear (Sadovy et al. 2004).

A range of undesirable economic,environmental and social outcomeshave often been identified as beingassociated with the trade, with thefocus mainly on environmental issues.These include over-exploitation ofcoral reefs and coral reef fishes and theenvironmentally damaging aspects ofsome harvesting techniques, includingcyanide fishing, targeting of spawningaggregations and the capture ofimmature fingerlings and juveniles forgrow-out (Cesar et al. 2000; Sadovyand Vincent 2002). Other aspects of the

trade are not well understood andwould benefit from further research,particularly demand issues.

On the demand side, the futuremarket potential for wild-caught andcultured live reef product is largelyunknown. As incomes in Asia rise overthe next decade and product sourcedfrom aquaculture become more readilyavailable, there is an expectation thatconsumer demand for LRFF willlikewise increase. The trade, however,is susceptible to the economicenvironment, as evidenced in adownturn during the Asian economiccrisis from which it has not yet fullyrecovered, and more recently, althoughto a limited extent, as a result of theSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) outbreak.

Trade data

Although the LRFF trade has beenflourishing for several decades,economic and trade information isscant. Prior to 1997, data on the LRFFimports into Hong Kong were coarsewith both marine and freshwater livefish categorized broadly as either foodor ornamental fish. The HarmonizedCode System (HCS) used in HongKong to monitor food imports wasimproved in 1997 to identify live reeffood fish categories. Refinement of theHCS in 1999 enabled LRFF imports tobe distinguished by key species andcountry of origin, further improvingmonitoring capacities. Tradeagreements between Hong Kong andPRC provide for low tariffs on LRFFentering PRC through Hong Kong, withthe result being that upward of 60% ofall LRFF entering Hong Kong are re-exported to the PRC. With lower tariffson foodstuffs likely when the PRC joinsthe WTO as expected, LRFF may soonenter the PRC directly. At present, thereis limited capacity to record andmonitor such imports.

Total recorded imports into HongKong have remained relatively stablesince 1999, when import volumes

High value species include highfin grouper, humphead wrasse, giant grouper, leopardcoralgrouper, and spotted coralgrouper. Other grouper include the green grouper, tigergrouper, flowery grouper and other grouper. Other marine fish include wrasses andparrotfish, mangrove snapper and other fish.Source: Hong Kong Census and StatisticsDepartment (HK CSD) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (HKAFCD).

Figure 1: Annual volumes of reported imports of all live reef food fish into HongKong, China 1998-2003.

Page 28: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network28

declined considerably relative toprevious years (Figure 1). The HongKong economy remained fairly robustfor the duration of the Asian economiccrisis that began in 1997, and onlybegan to show signs of a downturnfrom the end of 1998. This downturncoincided with a fall in declared importsof approximately 30 per cent in 1999,mainly in the categories of the lower-value “other marine fish” and “othergroupers”. In 2003, while total importsinto Hong Kong rose slightly (less than0.5%), the SARS epidemic during thatyear may have influenced consumerdemand for particular species. In 2003,the volume of high-value imports fellby 15 per cent. In contrast imports ofthe lower-value “other marine fish”category, which had declined figurinthree of four previous years, rose 10per cent. The results are described inmore detail in the next section

Import volumes of majorspecies by country of origin

The main exporting countries of wild-caught and farmed live reef fish remainmainland PRC; Thailand; Indonesia;Philippines; Australia; Malaysia; VietNam; and Taipei, China. Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines, and Australia arethe major exporters of high- andmedium-priced wild-caught live reeffish, while smaller quantities areexported from Thailand, Cambodia, VietNam and the Maldives4. The largestquantities of farmed grouper areexported from Thailand and Taipei,China5, mainly green grouper, while thePRC is the dominant supplier of othermarine fish and snooks and basses.Infrequent and irregular exports ofLRFF, mainly coral grouper and othergroupers have also been reported fromFiji Islands, Marshall Islands, PNG,Seychelles, Singapore, and SolomonIslands6.

The volumes of imports into HongKong of all major high- and medium-priced groupers and hump-head wrasseduring 1999–2003 are shown in Figure2. Indonesia and the Philippines aremajor suppliers of most species,although exports of coral groupers,green grouper, and flowery groupersfrom Indonesia have all declined duringthis period. Since 1999, total imports ofcoral groupers have increased by morethan 60%, with new Australian exports

making up more than 85% of thisincrease up to 2002. In 2003 Australianimports of coral grouper declined byalmost 34% while coral grouper importsfrom the Philippines rose by almost50% and total imports fell only slightly.In contrast, total imports of greengrouper had declined by 35% from 1999to 2002, primarily on the back ofsignificantly lower exports fromThailand. In 2003, green grouperimports rose by more than 30%, withexports from Thailand in 2003 morethan doubling. During the period 1999to 2003, total imports of tiger grouperhave more than tripled while totalimports of flowery grouper havedeclined by almost two-thirds. Theseresults are discussed in more detail inthe context of the SARS epidemic in thenext section.

Market trends and recenteconomic events

In general, the market has contractedsomewhat over the past five years,becoming more focused on fewerspecies - primarily the high-value andmid-priced groupers. The main causesof these past and likely future marketshifts are thought to be:• Overall improvements in transport

technology and access to airtransport that have helped toincrease imports of high-valuespecies. This has been reinforced byrelative increases in variable costs(fuel, fish feed, ship maintenanceand insurance) of transporting fishto markets by sea7.

• A decline of ~40% in the LRFFmarket since 1998. This fallingdemand has led to weaker retailprices, making the purchase andtransport of lower-priced fish thatmake up the bulk of importsfinancially unviable, resulting inHong Kong traders reducing volumeof imports by sea.

• Increased aquaculture production oflower-priced “groupers”. Grow-outof undersized wild-caught fish hasexpanded considerably in SoutheastAsia. The increase in grow-out fromhatchery production is seen as apositive industry development, butthere is growing concern over theparallel increase in grow-out of wild-caught juveniles for market8.

• Downturn in general business

because of international healthscares such as SARS and Ciguaterapoisoning.

The remainder of this section willpresent empirical and anecdotalevidence on trade impacts of SARS toillustrate the vulnerability of supplycountries to events and economicconditions in the major demand centreof Hong Kong.

Anecdotal evidence suggests anumber of market responses to SARSinfluenced these changingconsumption patterns. Following thefirst SARS reports in Hong Kong,restaurants began reportingcancellations of banquet bookings.Restaurants are traditionally the placewhere the higher-value and medium-value species are purchased andconsumed, and so consequently muchof their product is imported fromoverseas sources. With the number ofpatrons dining out at these restaurantsfalling markedly, many restaurantsclosed down for the duration of theSARS scare and, with the lowerdemand for high- and medium-valuefish, many traders stopped buying fishfrom overseas suppliers. Conversely,with consumers preferring to eat fish athome as opposed to dining out, thedemand for the lower-value anddomestically caught fish is thought tohave increased9.

The impact of the SARS epidemic,during April and May of 2003, onindividual species can be examined bylooking at trends in both prices andimport volumes across recent years.There were no real discernable impactsof SARS on the import prices of mosthigh-value and mid-value species (seeFigure 1 caption), including leopardand spotted coral grouper, highfingrouper, green grouper and tiger andflowery grouper (Pet-Soede et al. 2004).The SARS epidemic however, doesappear to have had an impact on thedemand for a subset of high-valuespecies and other grouper species.Figure 3, which compares monthlyimports in 2003 and monthly importsaveraged across the years 2000-2002,illustrates declines in imports of fourkey species or species groups in themonths affected by the SARS epidemic.In April and May of 2003 imports ofleopard coral grouper were 34 per centand 48 per cent lower, respectively,than the average annual imports over

Page 29: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 29

Figure 2: Import volumes for 6 species imported into Hong Kong, by country of origin for 1999–2003

Note: Those countries that make up the “other” category vary by species. In most cases, these countries do not export regularly.Countries that export several species include Cambodia, PRC, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Source: Hong Kong Census andStatistics Department, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and International Marinelife Alliance (Hong Kong).

-

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Australia Indonesia Philippines

Malaysia Vietnam Other

0

400,000

800,000

1,200,000

1,600,000

2,000,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Exp

orts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Thailand Philippines Malaysia

Taiwan Indonesia Other

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Philippines Indonesia Malaysia

Maldives R Other

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Exp

orts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Thailand Philippines Indonesia

Maldives R Other

-

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Philippines Indonesia Australia

Malaysia Other

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Ex

po

rts

Vo

lum

e (

kg

)

Thailand Philippines Indonesia Other

Tiger Grouper Flowery Grouper

Leopard Coral grouper Green Grouper

Humpback grouper Humphead Wrasse

Page 30: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network30

the years 2000-2002. Imports were alsolower for green grouper and “tigergrouper” species in April (39% and11% lower, respectively) and May (16%and 1% lower, respectively). Whileimports of flowery grouper were 48 percent lower in April than the 2000-2002average, imports in May were 31 percent higher than the 2000-2002 average.While recognising that the SARS eventwas likely a market demandphenomenon, it is possible that supplyconstraints influenced these observeddeclines in import volumes10.

During the SARS outbreak, importsfrom countries in closer proximity tothe Hong Kong market did not declineby as much as those from countriesfurther away, compared with previousyears. For example, imports of leopardcoral grouper from the Philippines werenot significantly lower than the 2000-2002 average, while imports of thisspecies from Australia dropped byroughly 50 per cent in both April and

May 2003. One reason might be thatproximity implies lower transport costs,and hence lower total import costs,while another would be the availabilityof substitute markets. In Australia,local wholesalers reported beach pricesbeing offered to fishers for live fish aslow as 15 Australian dollars (AUD) perkilogram during the peak of the SARSoutbreak, compared with an averageprice in April and May across all yearsfrom 1997 to 2002 of AUD 25.1 andAUD 25.9, respectively (G. Muldoon,unpublished data; T. Must, FishWholesaler, personal communication).According to several wholesale buyersspoken to during and after the SARSoutbreak, many fishermen in Australiaeither sold their fish fresh or frozen11 todomestic and overseas markets ratherthan live, or did not fish at all duringthis period.

Pet-Soede et al. (2004) noted in aprevious issue of this Bulletin thatprices of two high-value species,

leopard coral grouper and highfingrouper, showed little, if any, change inprice in response to SARS. They did,however, note substantial pricereductions in beach prices received byfishers in Indonesia for live grouper.Similarly discounted prices were“offered” to fishers in Australia, withbeach prices during the SARS outbreak40 per cent lower than average pricesfor those months over the previous fiveyears (G. Muldoon, unpublished data).Although only anecdotal accounts areavailable for the Philippines, live fishexporters noted that beach prices paidto fishers fell by 20 per cent during theSARS outbreak (B. Cheng, personalcommunication). These discrepanciesin price variations in response to SARSthat were experienced by participantsin supply and demand countries maybe cause to point to market distortionsand profit taking by retailers in HongKong, at the expense of fishers andmiddlemen in supplying countries.

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

225

250

275

300

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Vo

lum

e Im

po

rts

(t)

Average; 2000 - 2002 2003

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

200

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Vo

lum

e Im

po

rts

(t)

Average; 2000 - 2002 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Vo

lum

e Im

po

rts

(t)

Average; 2000 - 2002 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Vo

lum

e Im

po

rts

(t)

Average; 2000 - 2002 2003

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 3. Total monthly volume of imports of four major species or species groups: a) leopard coral grouper, b) greengrouper, c) tiger grouper, and d) flowery grouper imported into Hong Kong, China from 2000 through 2003. Monthly importvolumes have been averaged across the years 2000–2002.

Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department and Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, andInternational Marinelife Alliance (Hong Kong).

Page 31: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

July-September 2004 (No. 2) 31

Such inferences, however, based onthese observations and with limitedknowledge of the dynamics of supplyand demand, would be difficult tosubstantiate.

A similar picture emerges for abroader range of species, includingmid-value species, such that availabledata do not provide strong evidence ofa SARS impact on price. Figure 4compares monthly retail prices in 2003with monthly retail prices averagedacross the years 2000-2002 for fourspecies of grouper. Ignoring SARSimpacts, what is of interest is that forall species, with the exception of Aprilfor the leopard coral grouper, monthlyretail prices in 2003 were lower than thecorresponding monthly retail pricesaveraged across 2000-2002. Thisreinforces the anecdotal evidenceprovided by traders of a downwardtrend in prices for the whole trade.Again, discerning whether these pricevariations may be demand or supplyresponses is difficult based onavailable data. While prices in 2003were lower for all species illustrated,

patterns of import volumes were notconsistent. For example, leopard coralgrouper imports increased relative tothe previous year in 2000 (44%) and2002 (11%) but were stable in 2001,while tiger grouper imports increased in2000 (36%), 2001 (16%) and 2002 (21%).In contrast, green grouper importsdecreased in 2000 (13%), 2001 (5%) and2002 (20%), as did flowery grouperimports in 2000 (45%), 2001 (7%) and2002 (12%). A hypothesis that declinesin import volumes should lead to priceincreases is not borne out here. A morelikely premise is that the market overallis depressed, as is the Hong Kongeconomy generally. Furtherinvestigation would be required toestablish whether the discrepancies inmonthly import volumes between yearsand corresponding price movementsare, in general, supply and/or demandresponses.

Conclusions

Hong Kong remains the majordestination for consumption of LRFF,despite declining import volumes,depressed prices and occasionalhealth-related demand impacts. Ofgrowing interest is the expandingmarket associated with increasedincomes in mainland PRC. This growthis expected to continue into the future,placing increased pressure on suppliesof LRFF. It has been observed however,that increases in present yields of highand medium-value LRFF species fromthe wild are limited by the biologicalconstraints on total grouper production(Sadovy et al. 2004).

Aquaculture has been identified asboth an alternative livelihood toengaging in often-destructive fishingpractices and as a means of meetingfuture demand for the “high- andmedium-value” grouper species whenmany fish stocks in Southeast Asia areshowing signs of severe depletion. It isestimated that approximately 40 percent of all LRFF in the trade are

Source: International Marinelife Alliance (Hong Kong).

Figure 4. Monthly retail prices in Hong Kong of four major species or species categories: a) leopard coralgrouper, b) greengrouper, c) tiger grouper, and d) flowery grouper, imported into Hong Kong, China from 2000 through 2003. Monthly retailprices have been averaged across the years 2000–2002, while monthly retail prices for 2003 are only available until July ofthat year.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Reta

il P

ric

e (

US

D)

Average 2000-2002 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Reta

il P

ric

e (

US

D)

Average 2000-2002 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Reta

il P

ric

e (

US

D)

Average 2000-2002 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

Reta

il P

ric

e (

US

D)

Average 2000-2002 2003

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Page 32: Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network …library.enaca.org/Grouper/Publications/eMagazine2.pdfAustralia Mike.Rimmer@dpi.qld.gov.au grouper from Malaysia is around S$15/ kg

Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network32

Collaborators

The following organizations andcontacts are focal points forcommunication in the network:

Hong KongDr Jim Chu,[email protected]

IndiaDr Mohan Joseph Modayil,[email protected]

IndonesiaDr Ketut Sugama,[email protected] Muhammad Murdjani,[email protected]

IranDr Shapour Kakoolaki,[email protected]

MalaysiaCoastal marine fish cultureMr Ali bin Awang,[email protected]

Fish qualityMr Ismail Ishak & Mr [email protected] /[email protected]

Low food chain speciesMr Hussin bin Mat [email protected]

PhilippinesMs Prescilla B. Regaspi,[email protected] Marygrace C. Quintero,[email protected]

supplied from aquaculture, althoughthe majority of these fish come fromgrow-out of wild-caught juveniles tomarket size. Any benefits fromsubstituting wild-caught with culturedspecies depend on how successfullythe mariculture industry relieves itsdependence on wild stocks forjuveniles and trash fish for feedthrough increased hatchery productionand development of new diets (Sadovyet al. 2004). Moreover, the marketimpacts, and specifically price impacts,of this substitution may havesignificant effects on fisher income.

Footnotes

1. CRC Reef Research Centre Limited,PO Box 772, Townsville QLD 4810,Australia. Email:[email protected]

2. Advanced Choice Economics P/L, 30Dean Road, Bateman WA 6150,Australia. Email:[email protected]

3. Asia-Pacific School of Economicsand Government, AustralianNational University. Email:[email protected]

4. Hong Kong Census and StatisticsDepartment, Hong KongAgriculture, Fisheries andConservation Department

5. Both hatchery produced and wildcaught grow-out fish.

6. Johannes and Riepen, 1995; Shakeeland Ahmed, 1997; Yeeting 1999a;1999b; Johannes and Lam 1999;IMA Hong Kong, unpublished data.

7. Patrick Chan, personalcommunication.

8. In some regions, primarily juvenilesare caught and grown-out locally,and sold when they attain marketsize.

9. Patrick Chan (Chairman, Hong KongChamber of Seafood Merchants),personal communication.

10.Supply constraints in sourcecountries may be related to weather(monsoon, high winds) or seasonalvariations in catch rates.

11.Beach prices for frozen and wholefresh fish during April and May of2003 remained steady at betweenAUD 16.00 and 19.00 per kilogram,depending on the weight of the fish

References

Cesar, H.S.J., Warren, K.A., Sadovy, Y., Lau, P., Meijer, S.and van Ierland, E. 2000. Marine markettransformation of the live reef fish food trade insoutheast Asia. p. 137-157 In: H.S.J. Cesar (ed).Collected essays on the economics of coral reefs.Sweden: CORDIO.

Johannes, R.E., and M. Lam. 1999. The Live Reef FoodFish Trade in the Solomon Islands. SPC Live ReefFish Information Bulletin 6:7–14.

Johannes, R. E. and M. Reipen. 1995. Environmental,Economic and Social Implications of the Live ReefFish Trade in Asia and the Western Pacific, A studyfor the Nature Conservancy. Noumea, South PacificForum Fisheries Agency.

Pet-Soede, L., Horuodono, H. and Sudarsono. 2004.SARS and the live food fish trade in Indonesia: Someanecdotes. SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin12:3-9.

Sadovy, Y.J. and Vincent, A.C.J. 2002. Ecological issuesand the trades in live reef fishes. p. 391-420 In: P.F.Sale (ed). Coral reef fishes: Dynamics and diversityin a complex ecosystem. San Diego: Academic Press.

Sadovy, Y.J. et al. 2004. While stocks last: The live reeffood fish trade. Manila: Asian Development Bank.147 p.

Shakeel, H., and H. Ahmed. 1997. Exploitation of ReefResources, Grouper and Other Food Fishes in theMaldives. SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin2:14–20.

Yeeting, B. 1999a. Live Reef Food Fish Developmentsin Fiji. SPC Fisheries Newsletter 8:25–36.

Yeeting, B. 1999b. Live Reef Fish Development in Fiji.SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin 6:19–24.

Collaborating organisations