HOBBY TURNS INTO GROWING FISH CAGE FARMING FOR ANGLER

By Siti Azila Alias

NIBONG TEBAL, March 28 (Bernama) -- Starting out as a hobby of fishing in the vast sea, Wong Kwai Nin began to realise the hidden opportunities behind the hobby.

His desire to explore deeper led him to a world of great potential in aquaculture. 

From there, his interest grew to venture into this industry, until he finally made the bold decision to start farming fish in cages in the open sea.

Starting with just 60 cages, Wong, 61, who is also the executive director of Eco Farm Fishery Sdn Bhd, recounted how his hard work with his two friends, Teoh Tiang Hai, 45, and Loh Jiunn Kee, 37, over the past 13 years, yielded extraordinary results.

He said that from humble beginnings, they have now managed to expand their operation to own 200 cages located in the waters of Sungai Udang.

"I was really captivated by fish farming in cages. I used to go fishing here (Sungai Udang) with Loh and asked Ah Hai (Teoh) for help to book a boat and at the same time I saw that this field had great potential following the decreasing fish catch in the sea.

"From there, I invited the two of them to start this business because for me, fish farming is very important to ensure we can supply enough fish to meet the protein needs of Malaysians," he said when met by Bernama here recently.

According to Wong, there are seven types of fish farmed in his cages, namely redfish, grouper, golden snapper, bigeye trevally (nyok-nyok), golden pomfret, red seabass, and white seabass and each cage can accommodate around 4,000 fish fries, making their aquaculture operation not only large-scale, but also diversified to meet diverse market demands.

He said the maturity period of fish is up to five months depending on the type but for redfish, sea bass and grouper, it takes up to two years to reach a weight of 1.5 to two kilogrammes (kg) while the fish farming is able to generate a net income of between RM4,000 and RM5,000 per month.

However, he said it depends on market demand which is usually high during festive seasons such as Chinese New Year and supplies will be sold to wholesalers to be marketed nationwide.

Wong said the fish in the cages are fed special pellets twice a day and are closely monitored for hygiene aspects to ensure the health of the fish and that only quality and fresh fish are supplied to customers, in addition to having received a Good Aquaculture Practice (MyGAP) certificate from the Department of Fisheries (DOF).

However, he admitted that raising fish in the open sea is not an easy task and the unpredictable weather conditions have presented him with challenges to ensure that fish farming continues to grow.

“The worst event in history ever occurred was in 2023 when fish in cages died due to pollution which was untraceable. Most of the fish that died were golden pomfret, about 90 per cent, besides redfish and golden snapper,” he said.

Meanwhile, Penang Fisheries director Zarina Zainuddin said Wong was among 153 active marine cage farmers in the state who were granted a marine culture system (SKL) licence involving five areas, namely Batu Maung, Pulau Jerejak, Pulau Aman, Teluk Bahang and Sungai Udang with a total area of ​​93.73 hectares.

"Sungai Udang is the largest farming area involving more than 100 farmers and the Fisheries Department is responsible for issuing SKL licenses in accordance with the Fisheries Regulations (Marine Culture Systems) 1990 under Section 61, Fisheries Act 1985, which requires every marine fish cage farmer to obtain the license, otherwise they may be subject to enforcement action by the authorities," she said.

Zarina said last year, more than RM3.8 million in allocations were received by the Penang Fisheries Department to implement various assistance programmes, including the Aquaculture Support and Delivery System (SPeKS Akuakutur) programme, the Aquaculture Integration Development Programme (PPIA) (Integrated Cage System) and the Agrotourism Project Redevelopment Programme (PPSPA) through the Agricultural Disaster Fund (TBP).

In the meantime, she hoped that the aquaculture sector would continue to be strengthened so that Malaysians could have an adequate supply of fish.

-- BERNAMA