A total of 27 IPB University academics, consisting of students, lecturers and education staff (tendik) in the Department of Aquatic Resources Management (MSP) conducted a study visit to the Sea Farming Center of the Center for Coastal and Marine Resources Studies (PKSPL) IPB University.

The visit was part of a series of activities for the Summer Course Highland to Ocean, initiated by the MSP Department of IPB University. Ten participants included international students from Timor Leste, Madagascar, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Comoros, and Canada. This visit aims to provide students with opportunities and direct understanding of sustainable marine cultivation practices.

Dr. Majariana Krisanti explained that this visit is an integral part of the summer course curriculum held by MSP IPB University. “By visiting the Sea Farming Center of PKSPL IPB University, students can connect the theories they have learned in class with real practices in the field,” she said.

During the visit, students not only saw various types of marine commodities being cultivated up close, but also interacted directly with technicians and managers of the Sea Farming Center. Students were also given the opportunity to ask questions about various aspects of marine cultivation, from the concept of sea farming, location selection, land preparation, to marketing of the cultivated products.

Ibrahim Tamou, one of the student participants from Komoro, admitted that he was very enthusiastic about this visit because it was in line with the focus of the research he would be conducting. “This visit opened my eyes to the complexity of marine cultivation activities. I realized that to become a good manager of aquatic resources, we must have comprehensive knowledge, from technical aspects to socio-economic aspects,” he said.

Heru F Arafat, staff of the Science Techno Park (STP) Division of PKSPL IPB University, explained that the concept of sea farming originated from a collaboration between IPB University and the DKI Jakarta Government, in this case PKSPL and the Food Security, Maritime Affairs and Agriculture Sub-dept. (Sudin KPKP) in 2024.

“PKSPL IPB University was given permission to manage the waters area on Semak Daun Island covering an area of ​​13 hectares and has conducted many studies and also empowered the community of Panggang Island. “Currently, we are developing lobster cultivation technology to achieve export size, which is above 200 grams,” he said.