KUCHING: The red claw crayfish, which is also known as freshwater lobster, originated from Northern Australia, was reported to have high population in Suai River since 2011.
Sarawak Agriculture Director Dr Alvin Chai said his department had acted upon the report and executed 12 series of crayfish landing surveillance programmes, including some samples that were brought to the inland fisheries station for observation purposes.
He said the department initiated a research on the breeding and rearing of the crayfish and successfully produced 1,000 tails in 2016.
“Following the success, we have initiated the commercialisation of the species by introducing urban farming on the rearing of crayfish in Sarawak, where the species are reared in tanks on racks indoors,” he said.
“The programme began with two participants assisted by my department and has since expanded to over 150 participants – who are involved either commercially or in smaller scales at their backyards and ponds,” he said.
Chai said the species promoted by the Sarawak Agriculture Department was due to its characteristics such as hardy, polytrophic, disease resistant and high market price – up to RM85 per kilogram.
He was speaking at the launch of the ‘Red Claw Crayfish Culture Seminar’ held here today, which was launched by Modernisation of Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom.
The Agriculture Department, he said, has formulated a standard operating procedures (SOP) for the red claw crayfish culture, incorporating urban farming which is more compact, precise and organised, resulting in higher production and income for the local farmers.
“We are aware of the potential of the species bringing harm to the Sarawak riverine ecosystem due to its highly invasive characteristics.”
“Thus, we have formulated the SOP, without compromising the natural ecosystem in Sarawak, thus ensuring that the riverine areas are protected and free from any harm,” he explained.
Chai also said myGAP certification was a vital element for Sarawak produces and products to be able to penetrate export markets as it is an internationally recognised Good Agriculture Practice (GAP).
To date, more than 30 aquaculture farms have been certified with myGAP, mostly involved in cage culture activities in Batang Ai in Sri Aman.
For the crayfish industry, the same needs to be applied so that the crayfish produces are able to penetrate bigger markets both domestically and internationally.
