SMALL-SCALE CAGE CULTURE

OF RED TILAPIA

IN PERAK RIVER, MALAYSIA

This project is the outcome of a group efforts

to whom credit and technical responsibility go.

This project is based on an assignment which

was given to course participants and supervised

by Dr. Abdel Rahman El Gamal as a part of さFｷゲｴ C┌ﾉデ┌ヴW DW┗WﾉﾗヮﾏWﾐデざ Tヴ;ｷﾐｷﾐｪ Iﾗ┌ヴゲWざく Tｴｷゲ annual course is organized by the Egyptian

International Centre for Agriculture - (EICA).

Names, photos and countries of the team

members are shown above and in a following

slide

2014

SMALL-SCALE CAGE CULTURE

OF RED TILAPIA

IN PERAK RIVER, MALAYSIA

Team Members

Abu Sayed Bangladesh

Ruchira Amaraweera Sri Lanka

Liew Vui Kien Malaysia

Narin Songseechan Thailand

• Tilapia is a popular food fish that has been pond farmed for thousands of

years.

• Cage culturing makes it possible to grow tilapia in bodies of water where

draining and seining would be difficult or impossible.

• Examples of tilapia species and variants commonly grown in cages are

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) and

the man-made variants Florida Red and Taiwan Red.

Introduction

Objectives

•To encourage the involvement of graduates in aquaculture sector.

•To increase the income of rural folks and reduce the migration to

urban area.

•To produce 6.5 metric tons of fish with the value of RM78,000.00

(USD23,000.00) per year.

Project Site

• Perak River, Perak, Malaysia.

•The longest river in Perak with

the length of 400km.

• It originates in the mountains

at the Perak-Kelantan -

Thailand border, and empties

into the Strait of Malacca.

Perak River

Project Site – Why Perak?

81,760

164,510

Fish Production (mt) in 2013

Perak

Other states

5,658

2,960

1,310

11,286

Perak Freshwater Fish Production

2013 (mt)

Clarias spp

Red Tilapia

Black Tilapia

Other

Project Scope

• Small-scale freshwater cage culture of red tilapia in Perak River for 10 years.

• The proposed model for this small scale freshwater cage culture of red

tilapia consists of 4 floating cages with the dimension 3 × 4 meters and

depth of 1.5 meters.

• The fish will be harvested twice a year with the average weight of 800g

per fish.

Project rationality

Rationality:

• Tilapia can be cultured at high densities in mesh cages that maintain free circulation of water.

•The breeding cycle of tilapia is disrupted in cages, and therefore mixed-sex populations can be reared in cages.

•Flexibility of management

•Ease and low cost of harvesting

•Close observation of fish feeding response and health

•Ease and economical treatment of parasites and diseases

•Relatively low capital investment compared to ponds and raceways.

Methodology

Project Description:

Frame Galvanized steel and wooden planks

Netting Nylon (mesh size 0.75 – 1 inch)

Floats Empty barrel

Mooring Cement anchorage and tied to nearby trees or poles

Methodology (Cont.)

Water Quality:

Temperature (oC) 28 – 30oC

Dissolved Oxygen 5 – 7 ppm

pH 7 – 7.5

Free ammonia 0 – 0.5 ppm

Nitrite Less than 0.3 mg/l

Nitrate Less than 300 ppm

CO2 Less than 20 mg/l

Water Current 10 – 20 cm/sec

Minimum water depth 2 meter

Methodology (Cont.)

Stocking:

• Tilapia fingerlings of 4-inch average

size will be obtained from a nearby

private hatchery

•Each cage will be stocked with 1200

tilapia fingerlings

•Fingerlings will be acclimatized on the

site especially for temperature

Methodology (Cont.)

Feeding:

• Commercial pellets

• Feeding adjustment – daily, weekly / biweekly

(flexible; based on feeding activity)

• Fish sampling will be utilized in feed

adjustment

Fish Size (g) Feeding rate (% Biomass/Day)

<10 9-7

10-40 8-6

40-100 7-5

>100 5-3

Source : Sales Literature, President Enterprises Corporation, Taiwan

Methodology (Cont.)

Sampling and harvesting:

• Sampling will take place monthly

• It will be sufficient to randomly sample about 50 specimens/cage. Fish will be

collectively weighed and counted to get the average weight

• An adequate number about 20-30 fish per cage will be individually weighed

and measured to obtain the condition factor.

• A week before the tentative date of harvest, a pre-harvest sampling will take

place to determine the harvest time and/or actions which could be needed

• To remove fish during sampling or harvesting, the cage is partially lifted out of

the water and fish are captured with a dip net.

• Depending on size variation, the harvest could be selective (harvest the

target size and keep smaller fish for further growth) or could be a complete

harvest.

• Therefore, four weeks or more maybe required for complete the harvest

Finance and Labor

Financial Source:

Soft loan of RM30,000.00 (≈USD 10,000.00) are given to young

“agropreneur” – youth between the age of 18 until 35 to start agriculture

projects by Agrobank Malaysia with a grace period of 1 year. If the

project is successful, the young agropreneur can increase the soft loan to

a maximum of RM300,000.00 (≈ USD 100,000.00).

Labor:

As this is a small scale aquaculture with 4 cages, minimum labor is

required and only involve family members.

Item Unit Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost

Fish cage (4 x 3 x 1.5m) with

nylon netting and floats Unit 4 3,000.00 12,000.00

Total (RM) 12,000.00

Working Capital Costs

Production input

Fry Pieces 9600 0.30 2,880.00

Feed Kg 9600 3.00 28,800.00

Service input

Salary month 12 1,000.00 12,000.00

Fuel month 12 500.00 6,000.00

Misc month 12 300.00 3,600.00

Total (RM) 53,280.00

Grand Total (RM) 65,280.00

Investment Capital Cost

Item Year

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fry 1,440 2,880 2,880 2,880 2,880 2,880 2,880 2,880 2,880 2,880

Feed 14,400 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800 28,800

Fuel 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000

Maintenance 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600

Depreciation 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200

Salary 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000

Misc 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600 3,600

Loan

repayment* - 20,314.20 20,314.20 20,314.20 20,314.20 - - - - -

Total 39,240 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 55,080 55,080 55,080 55,080 55,080

Item Asset Value Life Span Yearly Depreciation

Fish cages (4 x 3 x 1.5m) with

nylon netting and floats RM12,000.00 10 RM1,200.00

* Reference from http://www.gyplan.com/monthly_payments_en.html

Depreciation and Annual Operational Cost

Year

Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Production (kg) 3,264.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00 6,528.00

Selling price (RM/kg) 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00

Sales revenue (RM) 39,168.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00

Sales revenue (USD) 11,869.09 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18 23,738.18

Total operational

cost (RM) 39,240.00 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00

Net revenue before

tax (RM) (72.00) 2,941.80 2,941.80 2,941.80 2,941.80 23,256.00 23,256.00 23,256.00 23,256.00 23,256.00

Cumulative net

revenue (RM) (72.00) 2,869.80 5,811.60 8,753.40 11,695.20 34,951.20 58,207.20 81,463.20 104,719.20 127,975.20

Expected Project Revenue

Item Value Self Finance External Finance

% Value % Value

Fish cage (4 x 3 x 1.5m) with nylon

netting and floats 12,000.00 0 - 100 12,000.00

Working Capital Cost 53,280.00 66 35,280.00 34 18,000.00

Total 65,280.00 35,280.00 30,000.00

Year Production Costs NCF

1 39,168.00 39,240.00 (72.00)

2 78,336.00 75,394.20 2,941.80

3 78,336.00 75,394.20 2,941.80

4 78,336.00 75,394.20 2,941.80

5 78,336.00 75,394.20 2,941.80

6 78,336.00 55,080.00 23,256.00

7 78,336.00 55,080.00 23,256.00

8 78,336.00 55,080.00 23,256.00

9 78,336.00 55,080.00 23,256.00

10 78,336.00 55,080.00 23,256.00

Total 127,975.20

IRR 40.86% NPV RM102,419.29 NPVC RM527,775.49

PBP 0.02 NPVB RM630,194.78 B/C Ratio 1.19

Financial Measurements

Sensitivity Analysis for Project Cash Flow

Item Year

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Sales (RM) 39,168.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00 78,336.00

Expenses

(RM) 39,240.00 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00

Income (RM) (72.00) 2,941.80 2,941.80 2,941.80 2,941.80 23,256.00 23,256.00 23,256.00 23,256.00 23,256.00

Cumulative

Income (RM) (72.00) 2,869.80 5,811.60 8,753.40 11,695.20 34,951.20 58,207.20 81,463.20 104,719.20 127,975.20

Sales decline 5%

Sales(RM) 37,209.60 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20 74,419.20

Expenses

(RM) 39,240.00 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00

Income (RM) (2,030.40) (975.00) (975.00) (975.00) (975.00) 19,339.20 19,339.20 19,339.20 19,339.20 19,339.20

Cumulative

Income (RM) (2,030.40) (3,005.40) (3,980.40) (4,955.40) (5,930.40) 13,408.80 32,748.00 52,087.20 71,426.40 90,765.60

Sales decline 10%

Sales(RM) 35,251.20 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40 70,502.40

Expenses

(RM) 39,240.00 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00

Income (RM) (3,988.80) (4,891.80) (4,891.80) (4,891.80) (4,891.80) 15,422.40 15,422.40 15,422.40 15,422.40 15,422.40

Cumulative

Income (RM) (3,988.80) (8,880.60) (13,772.40) (18,664.20) (23,556.00) (8,133.60) 7,288.80 22,711.20 38,133.60 53,556.00

Sales decline 20%

Sales(RM) 31,334.40 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80 62,668.80

Expenses

(RM) 39,240.00 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 75,394.20 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00 55,080.00

Income (RM) (7,905.60) (12,725.40) (12,725.40) (12,725.40) (12,725.40) 7,588.80 7,588.80 7,588.80 7,588.80 7,588.80

Cumulative

Income (RM) (7,905.60) (20,631.00) (33,356.40) (46,081.80) (58,807.20) (51,218.40) (43,629.60) (36,040.80) (28,452.00) (20,863.20)

Activity Chart

Activity

Year 1 Year 2

Jan

Fe

b

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r

Ap

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Ma

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Jun

Jul

Au

g

Se

p

Oct

No

v

De

c

Jan

Fe

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Ma

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Ap

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Ma

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Jun

Jul

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Training (Theory & Practical)

Construction of cages

Operation of cage 1

Operation of cage 2

Operation of cage 3

Operation of cage 4

Stocking

Grow-up

Harvest

Small-Scale

Cage Culture

• Private investment =RM35,280

• Loan = RM30,000

• Training

• Annual sale revenue of RM78,336

• Acquiring knowledge and skill

• Boost the local economy

• Reduce migration to urban area

Project Outputs

Marketing Approach

• The young agropreneurs on this project are encouraged to join the

nearby aquaculture cooperatives in the project area or district.

• Harvested fish could be sold live by the young agropreneurs in the

local market, night market and pasar tani (farmer’s market)

• The produce could also be sold to the aquaculture cooperatives

which will either sell it to hypermarkets or for processing if the

amount of fish is high enough.

Project Outlook

In general, there are three identified major areas of concern which seem

critical for the further development of the tilapia farming industry:

• the need for improved tilapia broodstock for the production of high quality

fingerlings,

• the need for commercial production of economical feeds for intensive

culture systems such as cages,

• the need for the development of market strategies.

Despite these identified problems, the future outlook for tilapia farming in

Malaysia is very encouraging. As our human population continues to increase,

there will always be a pressing need for producing animal protein foods such

as fish at affordable prices for our people. With the availability of a

domesticated animal like the tilapia for which its environment can be

completely controlled, attaining the national goal of self-sufficiency in fish

seems achievable.

References

• Bautista, A.M. 1983, Cage and pen farming management and

maintenance in lakes. Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian

Fisheries Development Center, Binangonan, Rizal.

• http://www.alphalapia.com/services/cages-fish-farming

• http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5744e/x5744e0f.htm#chapter 14 freshwater

cage for fish

• http://www.fao.org/docrep/s4314e/s4314e0s.htm

Thank you