Local entrepreneur Zulkarnain, who owns vannamei shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) commodities in Ujung Tanah Village, Lembah Sabil District, Southwest Aceh Regency (Abdya), has begun to explore both domestic and global markets. As an Abdya Regional House of Representatives (DPRK) member, he mentioned that he has a total of 12 land-based tarpaulin system ponds for vannamei shrimp cultivation along the coastal area of Ujung Tanah Village, Lembah Sabil. These ponds are constructed on a three-hectare land and employ approximately 50 local residents, both women and men. With each harvest, he stated that they are able to sell the shrimp both in the domestic and international markets, totaling 8-10 tons, to meet consumer demand. For international markets, he mentioned that the shrimp is exported through the Belawan Port in North Sumatra.
He added that the tarpaulin system vannamei shrimp cultivation ponds they have developed have an average size of 40 x 35 meters, and each harvest can yield 4.5 tons of shrimp per pond, sold at a price of IDR 75 thousand per kilogram in the local market. Meanwhile, the Marine and Fisheries Office of Abdya Regency noted that the potential land for brackish water fish farming in the area reaches 783 hectares, while the potential for freshwater fish farming (ponds) covers 1,746 hectares in nine districts. Previously, the Aceh Fisheries Quality Control, Fish Quarantine, and Safety Agency (Balai Karantina Ikan, Pengendalian Mutu dan Keamanan Hasil Perikanan or KIPM) recorded that until September 21, 2023, Aceh had exported a total of 200 tons of fishery products to Asian and American countries, consisting of 179.5 tons of non-living (frozen) fish and 20.8 tons of live fish. The 2023 export figures have increased compared to the previous two years. In 2021, the exports amounted to only 66 tons, and by the end of December 2022, it had reached over 281 tons. The exported fishery products were dominated by frozen tuna and octopus, and there were also live exports such as crabs, grouper seeds, and others.
