Aceh aquaculture rehabilitation project

Component 2 of the Aceh Aquaculture Rehabilitation Project comprises capacity-building activities linked to the reconstruction of laboratory, seed production and accommodation facilities at Balai Budidaya Air Payau (BBAP) Ujung Batee, Aceh, which were damaged or destroyed by the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami. The project comprises three major outputs:

Better Management Practices (BMPs) for coastal aquaculture in Aceh
Staff of BBAP Ujung Batee have been trained in BMPs for shrimp farming applicable to the traditional farming systems in use in Aceh. This training has been provided by Australian and Indonesian staff involved in ACIAR project FIS/2005/169 'Improving productivity and profitability of smallholder shrimp aquaculture and related agribusinesses in Indonesia'. Key topics covered in this training are: pond preparation, seed selection and stocking, measuring water quality, feed and feed management, sample preparation and submission, and identification of common diseases.

Following this training, BBAP Ujung Batee staff held workshops to train Dinas Kelautan dan Perikanan, BRR and NGO staff in Aceh Besar, Bireuen and Aceh Utara districts. These workshops provided training to a total of 29 (Aceh Besar), 63 (Bireuen) and 58 (Aceh Utara) participants. Feedback on the district training was generally positive, although Dinas staff would like further training to be more practical and less theory-based.

A unified set of BMPs for tambak (pond) farming in Aceh has been developed in collaboration with a range of agencies and NGOs active in aquaculture rehabilitation in Aceh, and these have been published as a manual on 'Better Management Practices for Tambak Farming in Aceh'.

This project operates in close collaboration with ACIAR project FIS/2005/009 'Technical capacity building and research support for the reconstruction of tsunami-affected brackishwater aquaculture ponds in Aceh'. BBAP Ujung Batee staff have undertaken training in 'Soil and environmental assessment for tambak reconstruction and management' and 'Pond and canal design for tambak reconstruction in Aceh'. Following this training, they have trained Dinas Kelautan dan Perikanan staff in Aceh Besar, Bireuen and Aceh Utara districts.

Aquatic Animal Health
BBAP Ujung Batee staff have been trained in PCR analysis, histopathology, microbiology, and epidemiology to support the role of the centre in providing disease control, assessment and management for coastal aquaculture in Aceh.

Training in epidemiology has been undertaken in collaboration with the University of Sydney's Faculty of Veterinary Science. The epidemiological training involves a study of the prevalence of white-spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in broodstock and hatcheries in Pidie, Bireuen, Aceh Utara and Aceh Timur districts. Staff of BBAP Ujung Batee have been trained in the use of relevant software in the 'Survey Toolbox for Aquatic Animal Diseases', randomisation techniques for sampling broodstock shrimp and post-larvae, the use of sterile techniques for sample collection, correct labelling and data recording.

A temporary laboratory has been established at BBAP Ujung Batee to allow PCR analyses to be carried out to support the implementation of BMPs by a range of agencies involved in aquaculture rehabilitation in Aceh. The PCR laboratory is particularly testing shrimp PLs to ensure that they are free of WSSV before stocking in ponds, to support activities by GOI agencies and NGOs to rehabilitate the coastal aquaculture industry in Aceh. Continued training and quality control of PCR analyses are being ensured through participation of BBAP Ujung Batee staff in ACIAR project FIS/2002/075 'Application of PCR for improved shrimp health management in the Asian region'.

Seed production
Most training in seed production technologies is being delayed until the new hatchery facilities at BBAP Ujung Batee are completed, i.e. from February 2008.
However, two BBAP Ujung Batee staff completed the 2006 Asia-Pacific Marine Finfish Aquaculture Network's Grouper Hatchery Training Course held at BBAP Situbondo. The trainees have proposed a number of technique improvements that can be implemented in the BBAP Ujung Batee hatchery after completion of the new facilities.
Additional hatchery training was provided in November 2006 by the Norwegian company AkvaPlan-niva through Norad in collaboration with NACA, DGA and ACIAR. This training was in live feeds production (microalgae, rotifers, brine shrimp) and in mesocosm larval rearing techniques.

Training of BBAP Ujung Batee staff has been undertaken in a range of topics supporting implementation of Better Management Practices (BMPs) for tambak farming in Aceh. Two demonstration sites have been developed in Bireuen and in Aceh Utara districts. The demonstration sites are primarily used to train BBAP Ujung Batee staff in implementation of BMPs for shrimp farming, but also serve to:
Provide a focal point for implementation of training outcomes, including technical activities and extension and dissemination activities;
Identify gaps in the training program, with additional or revision training undertaken in response;
Provide training for collaborating farmers who will undertake the day-to-day activities of pond management;
Provide sites where other farmers can visit and learn about BMPs not only from BBAP staff, but from other farmers;
Enable local Dinas staff to participate in 'hands-on' training in implementation of BMPs (as they have requested);
Support the development of effective linkages between BBAP Ujung Batee and District Dinas through collaborative activities.

The layouts for both pond sites has been developed in cooperation with FIS/2005/169 and are designed to improve biosecurity by reducing as much as possible potential introduction of viral diseases (particularly WSSV) from other ponds with shrimp populations. Shrimp production ponds are limited to those ponds which can be isolated from adjacent ponds which are likely to act as sources of infection (particularly from WSSV). Adjacent ponds are stocked with finfish (milkfish, tilapia, barramundi) to control plankton and algal growth and to predate any wild shrimp that enter the 'biofilter' ponds.

During the pond preparation phase, BBAP Ujung Batee laboratory staff sampled pond soil to provide input on soil remediation requirements and liming rates for the demonstration ponds. This sampling implements training provided by ACIAR project FIS/2005/009 'Technical capacity building and research support for the reconstruction of tsunami-affected brackishwater aquaculture ponds in Aceh'.

The Bireuen demonstration ponds were stocked in March 2008, and the Aceh Utara ponds in May 2008. The demonstration ponds have generated considerable interest in the local farming communities. Many farmers are adopting a 'wait and see' approach and have indicated that in the event that the demonstration ponds are successful, they would like to implement a similar approach on their own farms, with technical support from BBAP Ujung Batee.

Improved fish health services
BBAP Ujung Batee laboratory staff have been trained in PCR analytical techniques, histopathology, microbiology and epidemiological techniques. Due to delays in construction of the new laboratory facilities at BBAP Ujung Batee, much of this training has not been able to be implemented. However, a temporary PCR laboratory was established to support testing for shrimp viral diseases in support of BMPs implementation.

The BBAP Ujung Batee laboratory undertook 250 PCR tests during the reporting period (July 2007 - May 2008). Most of these tests were for the ACIAR project sampling for the WSSV epidemiological survey. However, a number of PL samples were tested to ensure that only WSSV-negative PLs were being stocked in ponds implementing shrimp BMPs through aid agencies / NGOs, including ADB, Caritas, FAO, IFC and NACA-WWF. The laboratory also tested batches of PLs produced in the BBAP Ujung Batee hatchery (Neuheun site) under the 'double screening' program to ensure they were free from WSSV.

An epidemiological study of Penaeus monodon broodstock and hatcheries in Aceh, undertaken in collaboration with Sydney University School of Veterinary Science, indicated that out of 225 broodstock sampled from Aceh Besar and Aceh Timur, only five were positive for WSSV. Of the 68 hatchery tanks sampled, only one was positive for WSSV. This is a remarkably low prevalence and suggests that shrimp broodstock and PLs from Aceh are relatively free of this major viral disease.

Seedstock production
Training of BBAP Ujung Batee hatchery staff has been undertaken in:
Grouper hatchery production;
Live feeds (microalgae and rotifer) production;
Shrimp hatchery production to produce high-quality, high-health seedstock.

The shrimp hatchery training has been implemented at the Neuheun site of BBAP Ujung Batee (renovated by JICS). However, implementation of the grouper hatchery training has not been possible because of delays in the construction of hatchery and related facilities for seed production at the Durung site of BBAP Ujung Batee (which is being renovated under AIPRD funding).