Post-tsunami training - aquaculture

Rehabilitating aquaculture ponds

A major task in Aceh is rehabilitating degraded aquaculture ponds, to re-establish the aquaculture industry. ACIAR has undertaken work on rehabilitating aquaculture ponds affected by acid sulfate soils in eastern Indonesia, with much of this applicable to the situation in Aceh.

Dr Jes Sammut, of the University of NSW, leads an ACIAR project investigating remediation of degraded aquaculture ponds in South Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Together with his Indonesian research team, they have developed some simple solutions to soil degradation in shrimp ponds, treating problems of acidic soils, redesigning ponds and reconstructing pond dykes.

Once in Aceh the team quickly recognised the need for training and the urgency of the situation as farmers wanted to start rebuilding and restoring their livelihoods as soon as possible.

In response to the requests from Indonesian staff the project team planned a workshop for fisheries staff, which was held in May.

“It was a monumental task,” says Dr Sammut. With help from the Australian Embassy and ACIAR’s Indonesia office, 26 fisheries staff from Aceh went to the workshop in Batam for training in methods of assessing ponds, soil type, and properties that farmers need to consider when planning where to site their ponds.

It was felt that off-site training would give participants a break from the tragedy and help them to form working relationships with participants from other agencies.

“The trauma suffered by participants at the workshop was evident,” said Dr Sammut. “Individuals were constantly remembering the tragedy and what they had lost. While survivors are willing to help the community, about two-thirds of fisheries staff were killed in the tsunami and their resources are limited.”

The workshop covered basic field and laboratory techniques, including how to use, calibrate and maintain soil monitoring equipment. Two Indonesian postgraduate students who are studying with Dr Sammut at the University of New South Wales also attended the workshop. Akhmad Mustafa, an ACIAR John Allwright Fellow, who is doing his PhD research on pond remediation is now recognised as a pond soil expert in Indonesia – a specialised area which is very important for the country. Sugianto, an AusAID fellow from Aceh, helped translate material and train participants.

Using a train the trainer approach, the participants spent six days learning and practising the skills they would need to take back to Aceh and use in the field with farmers. A further four days were spent in Aceh conducting field-based training and planning future work.

More than 20,000 ha of aquaculture ponds in Aceh were affected by the tsunami. The landscape has changed, mud was transported from the sea and coastline, sea water has infiltrated soils and debris was deposited.

“It is a big challenge to remediate such a large area of ponds because the physical and chemical composition of the sediments is unknown,” Dr Sammut explained.

“In some cases ponds need to be completely reconstructed, in others raw acid sulfate soils have been exposed to the air and over the last few months have oxidised and generated large amounts of sulfuric acid. Now that farmers are having to rebuild, the concern is that the severely acidified soil will cause production problems– the last thing they need now is to lose a crop.”

Disease control for prawns

Many prawn hatcheries have also been destroyed. There is concern that remaining suppliers may not be rigorous with disease control as they try to satisfy the huge demand for seed stock.

With another ACIAR project in Jave and Eastern Indonesia investigating disease control for small-scale shrimp farmers the workshop organisers asked two researchers, Dr Murdjani and Mr Supito, to attend the workshop and lead a session on disease management issues.

Other problems are the lack of processing facilities and the human tragedy of the tsunami. Support infrastructure was destroyed or damaged and many community members lost houses, fishing boats, engines and gear.

The workshop resulted in the establishment of four ‘constant’ teams with the necessary equipment and a further two teams who will share equipment. These teams are now out working with farmers. Students at the fisheries high school are being trained in soil surveys and how to reconstruct ponds. Many will soon graduate and possibly take up local government positions in the fisheries sector.

Another objective is to establish pilot trials and demonstration areas where farmers can monitor the effectiveness of the technology.

Recognising that in some places remediation may not be possible Dr Sammut and his colleagues also trained the participants on alternative farming practices.

Shrimp monoculture is a high-risk activity and they have provided information that farmers can use to help in making choices, such as farming other species (eg milkfish, juvenile shrimp production), or seaweed culture. Another alternative is sea cage culture.