Indonesia Situation

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Aquaculture is where the hobby is going and the hobby will be better without wild corals imo

Indeed, but those corals all originate on the reefs at some time. The ultimate would be land based aquacultured seeded with sustainable mariculture. Well run sustainable mariculture farms could easily supply all corals demanded by the worldwide hobby.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

More pics from 2006 Solomon Islands coral farming.

 

[Joshky]

Great photos Dr. Mac, thank you for all of the work you do for this hobby. Those Solomon Island pictures are fantastic, I would love to help set up sustainable Mariculture farms one day.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

In Marau Sound where we had cultured corals there were corals in every direction as far as the eye can see, enough corals on that one reef to supply the worldwide hobby for decades.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

One exceptional metallic pink mille we decided to propagate. This was 12 years ago, but maybe we can restart the project. Anyway, we took just a few branches from the colonies and in a few months when the frags were encrusted and saleable the colony had regrown. Some frags were allowed to grow out more and those were used as future broodstock.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

The original Purple Monster

The original Superman Monti

A giant Giant Clam, gigas

The Chief of the reef

The Chief of the village

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

The old man with the village elder

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

The village Chief's teeth are not red from having a tasty snack, it's from chewing Betel nut, an additive nut common in the islands.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

My friends on the farm in Indonesia must be bored, they sent more pics this morning. Since they are not being allowed to export their products they have no income and getting a bit desperate. Done correctly, mariculture of corals is sustainable and has no negative impact on reefs. The government is not allowing export of cultured corals and this will lead to the folks employeed now in better utilizing their natural resources to look for other means to survive, those means may not be so beneficial to the environment.

BTW, this is not a selling thread, nothing to sell here, just informational.

 

[drawman]

My friends on the farm in Indonesia must be bored, they sent more pics this morning. Since they are not being allowed to export their products they have no income and getting a bit desperate. Done correctly, mariculture of corals is sustainable and has no negative impact on reefs. The government is not allowing export of cultured corals and this will lead to the folks employeed now in better utilizing their natural resources to look for other means to survive, those means may not be so beneficial to the environment.

BTW, this is not a selling thread, nothing to sell here, just informational.

Great photos. It's a shame to see the sustainable side being shut down.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Great photos. It's a shame to see the sustainable side being shut down.

Indeed, it is a shame, and so many there are trying to do the right thing and also have a lot time, effort, and money invested. As in all industries, there have been some bad actors and the trade association might have better policed itself. Ultimately though this seems to be about poweer struggles and bruised egos on the part of government agencies and those in charge of them. Unfortunately our industry is caught in the middle. Rumors are around that at some time they may allow for export of cultured products but regulations will be more stringent. Others have speculated that this is a way of shrinking our industry. The longer the shut down, the more small guys fall away, thereby leaving a few big guys that are then more closely monitored. With so many small independents the government had less control and more difficulty monitoring, fewer larger operations would be easier to control. Anyway, no one really knows anything, just lots of rumors!

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

More Indonesia farm pics. At least we can admire from afar.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing! We are planning a pilgrimage to your MD facilitie this fall

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Back in the Solomons, 2006.

While it was exciting to dive and hunt for corals to propagate, it was very eerie to see all the sunken planes and ships lost during WWII. Guadalcanal was a major island of battle during the war and tens of thousands of troops on both sides died there. To come across these numerous wrecks while diving gives you a weird chill.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

It seems that with each passing day the situation in Indonesia gets worse. With no income for over 2 months and no resolution or even any word from their government, some exporters are beginning to shut down. One I'm familiar with moved to the US and as of now is out of the business, a couple others I know of have fired their employees and barely keeping their systems going. Surely as this ban continues some of the smaller players will be weeded out and maybe that is part of the strategy. Trim down the number of exporters, get rid of the bad actors, and then have a smaller industry that can then be more closely monitored and controlled. Nobody knows for sure, but thats one speculation floating around.

As the supply chain has been significantly altered with the export bans from Indonesia and Fiji, responsible for probably 80+% of hard corals previously available, we will see a change in availability and prices. Aussie corals are filling the void somewhat, but lack the variety compared with the previous sources and are generally much more expensive. All this has not quite filtered down to the average hobbyist yet. Suddenly overnight the stockpiles of genetics at my facility and others and in hobbyist tanks has become much more valuable. If or when Indonesia opens up again presumably regulations will be more stringent meaning some corals might not be seen again or in very limited number. All opinion and speculation at this point, but surely our industry and hobby are going through a transitional period.

 

[revhtree]

Thank you for the info and keeping us updated. We appreciate all your efforts and wish the best for the entire industry.

 

[Servillius]

Aquaculture is where the hobby is going and the hobby will be better without wild corals imo

Forgive my ignorance, but how is growing corals in an artificial environment using electricity and refined chemicals a better choice than using natural sunlight and sea water?

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Sitting around and growing in Indonesia waiting to be released.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]