Indonesia has been able to surpass some of the largest shrimp exporting countries so far, which are India, Ecuador, and Vietnam, chief executive officer of Delos, Guntur Mallarangeng, said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Tuesday.
However, more than 50 percent of the archipelago's shrimp farming industry is not being taken seriously. Its value is more than half of the current total value of marine products. Imagine if that potential is fully utilized, Indonesia will be number one, he remarked.
With a coastline measuring 54 thousand km, abundant coastal human resources, and a supportive tropical climate, Indonesia should be able to become a global leader in sustainable aquaculture, Guntur said.
In terms of technology and practices, Delos has departed from the conventional shrimp ponds of Dewi Laut Aquaculture (DLA) and the digitalization of Alune Aqua.
According to Guntur, Delos combines science, technology, and good management practices to increase shrimp farm productivity and increase yields above average, to around 40 tons per hectare.
Since November 2021, he said, the company is on track to onboarding 100 hectares of intensive and super-intensive shrimp farms, with an existing demand backlog of more than 600 hectares in the pipeline.
“We want to push Indonesia to realize and harness the true potential of its vast seas, making them into major, and sustainable, national economic drivers in the near future,” he added.
On March 23, Delos raised US$8 million in an extension seed round, co-led by MDI-KB’s Centauri and Alpha JWC Ventures, with initial seed investors topping up and new strategic angel investors following on.
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He said that the company will use the new funds to build and scale its three main product lines: AquaHero, AquaLink, and AquaBank, which tackle specific problems and opportunities within both the Indonesian aquaculture industry and the global seafood market.
In addition, the company is establishing the DELOS Maritime Institute (DMI) in Yogyakarta in order to educate and train workforce-ready aquaculture talent as well as support scientific and technological R&D efforts.
Delos is seeking to drive the growth and modernization of the Indonesian aquaculture industry and its integration into the global seafood industry, a vision the company has dubbed the “Blue Revolution,” he said.
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Reporter: Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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