Annex VIII
THE STATUS AND PROBLEMS OF SANITATION AND MARKETING OF MOLLUSC IN INDONESIA

Untong Wahyono

Directorate General of Fisheries
Department of Agriculture

Muhammad Murdjani

Seafarming Development Centre
Directorate General of Fisheries
Department of Agriculture

I. INTRODUCTION

Indonesia is an archipelagic country consisting of over 13,000 islands. Its long coastline has numerous and extensive tidal flats, bays, lagoons, estuaries and coral reefs. A large proportion of its population is located along its coastal zone, with the majority engaged in small-scale fisheries and/or part-time farming activities. The income of these communities is often affected by the accessibility or availability of the marine resources and therefore also the characteristics of the climatic regime.

Some of the coastal areas are rich in shellfish resources including cockles, mussels and oysters, which are traditionally collected and utilized as food. The resources, if intelligently utilized through the introduction of seafarming schemes, could provide new job opportunities to the economically depressed communities. This, and the development of numerous suitable areas, could also increase the production of edible shellfishes to improve the livelihood of coastal communities.

II. PRODUCTION

Mollusc production is largely obtained from natural stock collection and the most important one is blood cockles (Anadara granosa) which is collected from intertidal areas with a depth ranging from 0 to 5 metres. From the production data of molluscs in 1987 (Table 1), blood cockles are largely concentrated in the coastal area of the Malacca Straits and East Sumatra. Others are found in the north of Java, south and west of Kalimantan, east of Kalimantan and Maluku/Irian Jaya. Cockles are collected by local fishermen by hand or by using rakes, hand dredges or dredges operated manually or towed by boat.

Source : Fisheries Statistic of Indonesia, 1987.

III. SANITATION

In general, Indonesians prefer molluscs less than fish. In coastal regions, the preference for blood cockle and green mussel is greater than in other places, while frozen and canned products are only for export. Green mussel culture has currently been developed around the Jakarta Bay, Lampung, West Java and North Sumatra. However, it is estimated that due to the industrial development the environment has shown signs of pollution and microbial contamination. On the other hand, appropriate depuration practices have not yet been applied on a commercial scale. For daily practice, the mollusc is cleansed and rinsed in clean water only prior to consumption.

Depuration studies have been carried out using pilot scale system at the Agricultural Research Development Centre. Conceivably, with the development of seafarming and export market of mollusc, effort should be made to improve quality of products that are safe and fit for human consumption by way of introducing and developing depuration technology for commercial-scale operation.

IV. MARKETING

Molluscs with a high economic potential for seafarming development in Indonesia are cockle (Anadara granosa), mussel (Mytilus spp.), and oyster (Saccostrea cucculata and C. luqubris).

4.1 Cockle.

At present, cockles in Indonesia are collected from natural sources. Annual production from 1983–1987 were 43,250; 48,926; 30,959; 30,289; and 33,255 MT. The decline from 1984 to 1987 suggests that the exploitation of the resource needs to be rationalized and Indonesia cannot further depend on the wild population. Some forms of culture practised in neighboring countries have to be introduced in order to obtain maximum sustainable yield.

Regarding its market potential, cockle is widely perceived as a low income group food source. Each town has many local outlets to supply centres of population in its immediate vicinity. They are sold shell-on live. The price at the producer level is between Rp. 150–200 per kg. It goes up to Rp. 400 per kg (shell-on) or Rp. 1,500 (meat) at the retail level and when sold to restaurants. The limited amount which is around 10 MT/day can be absorbed by canneries and cold storages for a further stage of preservation. The common methods of processing are freezing the boiled meat, pickling in vinegar and canning in brine. The foreign market is limited at present; unofficial records show that at least 74 MT of live cockle were exported to Singapore and Malaysia from Medan and 2 MT of salted and dried product to Japan. The potential foreign market that need to be explored includes France, Spain, Italy and Japan.

Cockle shell is also a valuable by-product for poultry grit and for use in making lime. Buyers would come to collect the material when the quantity of shell is large enough to be worth a trip.

4.2 Mussel

Mussel are sold live or as boiled meat for domestic market. Dried mussel is popular among Chinese for soup or stew. This form of product is in high demand in both the domestic and international markets. Mussel can also be preserved by smoking, canning in brine and pickling in vinegar. These products are popular and well-accepted in America and Europe. The PT Native Prima Co. Ltd. in Medan alone requires at least 1,000 MT/yr of mussel meat or 4,000 MT on shell for smoked and canned products for the Italian market. One source indicated that frozen mussel meat might be accepted by the Australian market if the product can be competitive with the product from New Zealand.

4.3 Oyster

Indonesia has both the oyster species and the coves, bays and sheltered areas for growing them. Oyster culture can be one of the income generating seafarming-based industries. If there is little or no demand in the country, the oysters can be processed i.e. dried, smoked, canned or made into oyster sauce; these are much in demand in other countries.

V. PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS

So far, shellfish culture in Indonesia has not developed mainly due to health hazards and consumer preferences. No sanitary control is imposed on collected bivalves. Although the great majority of capture and potential culture sites are pollution-free it is felt that some means of quality control should be developed in order to stimulate demand. With regard to consumer food preferences, seafood does not constitute the daily diet of all Indonesians; only a few regions such as South Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya give preference to seafood; in most other regions the people prefer vegetables to fish or meat. For these reasons, there is low market demand for shellfish and little incentive to invest in shellfish culture.

VI. FUTURE PLANS

The Indonesian Government is trying to promote seafarming development and several species of shellfish have been introduced for culture. The Seafarming Development Project supported by FAO/UNDP is working on the introduction and development of seafarming systems and technologies applicable in Indonesia. To promote shellfish culture in Indonesia, it has been recommended that the agencies concerned should concentrate on the following concerns:

• Market promotion. Due to a limited market, consumption of shellfish should be encouraged among the local people. The public should be made aware of the nutritional value of bivalves and provided with guides on their preparation and cooking recipes.

• Production of good quality shellfish. One of the reasons the market is limited is the low quality of molluscs. To avoid health hazards due to pollution of the growing site, suitable culture areas must be identified and carefully selected that are free from contamination arising from household and industrial effluents.

• Introduction of appropriate culture technologies. The introduction and adoption of culture technologies from countries with older culture traditions would help boost the development of this young industry.

REFERENCES

Lovatelli, A., (1988). Status of oyster culture in selected Asian countries, NACA-SF/WP/88/2, Bangkok, Thailand.

Lovatelli, A., (1988). Status of mollusc culture in selected Asian countries. NACA-SF/WP/88/4, Bangkok, Thailand.

Pagcatipunan, R.N., Tortell P. and J. Silaen, (1981). A preliminary survey of the development potential of shellfish farming in Indonesia. SFP/81/WP/2, Jakarta.

Tiensongrusmee, B., Pontjoprawiro S. and K. Mintardjo, (1989). Marketing and prospecting of investment in seafarming Indonesia. INS/81/008/Manual 13, Seafarming Development Project INS/81/008.

Wiryanti, Y., (1988). Shellfish/mollusc depuration in Indonesia. ASEAN consultative workshop of mollusc depuration, 4–7 October 1988, Penang, Malaysia.