INTRODUCTION

Aquaculture remains a cornerstone of marine and fisheries production in Indonesia. Aquaculture activities, combining existing potential with the availability of promising technologies, can certainly support increased production. According to statistical data from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia for 2022, the aquaculture production volume was 14,776,056.93 tons and increased to 16,967,518.25 tons in 2023 (Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia, 2024). Aquaculture in West Java contributes to Indonesia’s fish production. The area and production volume of still-water pond fish in West Java in 2023 amounted to 257,378,868 m2 with a production of 1,308,635 tons (Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia, 2024). Tasikmalaya City, with its aquaculture area and number of fish farmers, contributes to the increase in national fish production. The area and number of fish farmers in Tasikmalaya City in 2024 are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Area and Number of Fish Farmers by Business Sector and District of Tasikmalaya City, 2024.

Source: Fishery Statistical Data, Department of Food Security, Agriculture and Fisheries of Tasikmalaya City, 2024

Table 1 shows that Tasikmalaya City has fisheries potential that can be developed sustainably. The area of grow-out fish ponds is 621.23 hectares with 11,731 fish farmers, rice-fish (sawah mina) paddy fields cover 51.42 hectares with 496 cultivators, and fast-flowing water ponds cover 0.14 hectares with 7 cultivators (Department of Food Security, Agriculture and Fisheries of Tasikmalaya City, 2024).

The fish production data in Tasikmalaya City for the past five years can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Graph of Fish Production Data for 2019-2023

Source: Fishery Statistical Data, Department of Food Security, Agriculture and Fisheries of Tasikmalaya City, 2024

In Figure 1, fish production in the City of Tasikmalaya over the past five years has experienced fluctuations. Fish production in 2023 decreased by 33.35 tons compared to 2022. This presents a challenge for fish farmers as well as the local government, in this case the Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries Security Office of Tasikmalaya City, to work harder to increase fish production by implementing or developing appropriate strategies to boost the fisheries output.

The fluctuations in fish production are influenced by productivity levels. Productivity data for still-water ponds in Tasikmalaya City were 1.49 kg/m2 in 2019, 1.50 kg/m2 in 2020, 1.50 kg/m2 in 2021, 1.44 kg/m2 in 2022, and 1.40 kg/m2 in 2023 (Department of Food Security, Agriculture and Fisheries of Tasikmalaya City, 2024). Based on the productivity of fish cultivation in still-water ponds, the average productivity in 2023 in Tasikmalaya City decreased compared with the previous year, 2022.

The average fish productivity in Tasikmalaya City, when compared to national fish productivity, is still below the standard. The national standards for aquaculture productivity can be seen in Table 2.