Fish Farming in Indonesia

Fish are sensitive, intelligent animals with complex behaviors. They can learn from each other, recognize other fish, remember solutions to problems for most of their lives and can even use tools. But despite their sensitivities and intelligence our exposé shows:

• Unsanitary conditions, with fish visibly sick and dying prematurely, left to float in their pens once dead.
• Live fish transported on ice, a practice decried by animal welfare specialists.
• Fish skinned and cut open while still fully conscious at local markets and farms.
• And alarming environmental impacts to surrounding areas.

At The Fish Farms And Hatcheries

The so-called harvesting of milkfish is a daily occurrence in Central Java, Indonesia and typically takes place at night. At various farms in this region, our investigators documented milkfish living in visibly dirty water, with low oxygen levels. Some fish were suffering from exhaustion, sickness and premature death, while others showed signs of disease from poor sanitation and dead fish were left floating in pens.

The process requires farm workers to manually net and remove the fish from ponds once they have reached market size (20-40 centimetres in length). To capture the milkfish, workers gradually enclose them by pulling a net across each pond until they cannot escape. This process is chaotic and workers wear protective helmets to avoid injury from the jumping and thrashing fish attempting to flee from the capture. On one farm, an estimated 3.5 metric tons of milkfish from just one pond were confined in nets, and our investigators observed fish dying during the process.

Like other types of fish reared in the aquaculture industry, farmed milkfish are usually fed a diet consisting primarily of food pellets. Despite being a herbivorous species, some farms will add supplements using such ingredients as rice bran, corn, rejected snack foods, snail meat, or chicken entrails, among others.

Our investigators also visited a milkfish hatchery that was part of a larger milkfish rearing farm, spread over several hectares and containing numerous ponds. Despite being kept in separate areas before being transferred to other ponds, where they are fed intensively until they reach market size, only about 40 to 50 percent of these baby fish will survive this stage of their lives.

At The Food Markets And Retailers

Indonesia’s traditional markets typically open around 9 p.m., so the fish are harvested at night when cooler temperatures help to keep the dead fish fresh for sale. Once removed from the water, the fish are transported on ice, destined for auction or directly to large grocery stores and small traditional markets. 

The ice is not considered a slaughter or stunning method, but many fish die from lack of oxygen on route, while still conscious. Scientific studies have concluded that ice causes thermal shock, and it is a painful and stressful process that keeps fish conscious and sensitive to pain for prolonged periods.

At one small and busy market, three different vendors were seen selling catfish, pangasius, tilapia, carp, and gourami. Some of the fish in the displays at this market were still breathing, having survived transport, in part due to thermal shock. Our investigators also witnessed fish being skinned and cut open while still fully conscious.

In one food and consumer goods market, carp, gourami, pangasius, tilapia, catfish, and other aquatic animals were available for purchase and slaughtered on-site. Fish were observed being held in crowded barrels before being killed and processed, without water and with no oxygenation or temperature control. In the case of catfish, a species known to have robust physiology and capable of temporary survival out of water, the animals were observed struggling and possibly still alive while their bodies were being cut apart.

Indonesian retailers still keep fish alive in tiny tanks in their stores, where fish can barely swim and may suffer from pain, fear and stress. At one of Indonesia’s largest supermarket retailers, fish are sold live, recently killed, frozen, or as prepared products such as fish “meatballs.” Live fish including tilapia, gourami, and catfish were observed crowded in tanks in stressful conditions.

At The Fish Slaughterhouses

At a fish slaughterhouse in the Central Java region, we documented tilapia, catfish, and gourami being unloaded with dip nets and transferred to small holding ponds containing dark and dirty water. Fish were crowded, with little space to move. The slaughterhouse workers chose each fish for slaughter with their bare hands. Rejected fish were thrown back into the ponds, and selected animals were put into plastic baskets that contained no water.

During slaughter, workers placed fish on an unsanitary table and used sticks to hit them on the head before removing their gills and entrails. Often the fish were still conscious and able to feel pain or gasp for air as they lay on the table waiting to be killed and processed. 

Once butchered, the fish were bagged in plastic and sold to retail market sellers, restaurants, and individual buyers.

Environmental Concerns

In August 2018, at Kedung Ombo Reservoir, over 100 tons of farmed tilapia died. Experts say the large number of floating nets in the dam and quantity of food given to fish has led to a rise in bacteria, toxins and water pollution. This problem is an ongoing issue, with instances of farmed fish found dead a common occurrence.

Kedung Ombo is a massive reservoir located in the Central Java Province of Indonesia and is one of the country’s major freshwater reservoirs. The reservoir supplies drinking water, power generation, flood control, fishing, and fish cultivation using floating net cages. Aerial views reveal numerous fish farms in the reservoir, rearing primarily tilapia, carp, and pangasius.

Fish are sensitive, intelligent animals who are subjected to stressful and painful conditions at fish farms, markets and retailers in Indonesia. At every step of the process we documented poor animal welfare conditions, some of which would be agonizing for the fish. This, in tandem with environmental pollution, creates a strong case for change.

We invite readers to explore Act for Farmed Animals’ campaign. Learn how you can take action at www.actforfarmedanimals.org/ikan.

Data sources: Vox / HSUS / IJSER 

Indonesia, 2021. Lilly Agustina / Act for Farmed Animals / We Animals Media