1 Background and objectives

The tremendous development of aquaculture worldwide over the years has led to projections that in the next few decades aquaculture is bound to overtake open fisheries as the major source of fish protein.

This is particularly true in Indonesia as the archipelago of the country offers excellent natural conditions for aquaculture activity. With over 14 million tonnes, Indonesia is currently the second largest aquaculture producer in the world after China. Approximately 90 percent of country fish production is consumed domestically. To meet food security and job creation targets, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) plans increasing overall national aquaculture production by an additional 2.5 million tonnes and 750,000 jobs in the next years. This will require significant expansion of the cultivated area. However, the adopted spatial planning and siting of aquaculture facilities currently in place is inappropriate. Hence the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices and managerial schemes in accordance with the guidelines of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture (EAA) is essential for enhancing sustainable development and expansion of the industry (FAO, 2010b); and it is also a pre-requisite to assure compliance with the existing regulatory framework (Soto et al. 2008). This paper focuses on procedures and steps for improving spatial planning of marine finfish aquaculture facilities in a feasibility stage of developments. Emphasis is given to techniques particularly suited for sites with scarce data typical of the sites in South-East Asia.

The most essential initial steps of an EAA are proper selection of sites for fish farms and estimation of carrying capacities (Ross et al., 2013). Site selection of marine finfish farms is relatively straightforward but requires a sizable number of field data with good spatial coverage to assess their function. Estimation of ecological carrying capacity (ECC) still presents some constraints mainly due to the absence of in-situ data, complexity of the processes involved and uncertainties concerning the adopted sustainability criteria. To deliver proper spatial planning of marine finfish aquaculture operations, methods for site selection and estimation of ECC tailored to conditions in South-East Asia have been developed and applied (Mayerle et al., 2006, Windupranata 2007, Wulp et al., 2010 and Niederndorfer, 2017). Investigations were done at sites in Bali, Batam and Pulau Seribu in the framework of a project commissioned jointly by the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) and the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
In this paper, experiences from the assessments of several marine finfish aquaculture facilities in Indonesia are summarized. Processes and steps of the spatial planning applied within and integrated, ecosystem-based approach to sustainable marine finfish aquaculture are introduced. The effectiveness of the methods adopted and technological advancements in this field are demonstrated for an aquaculture facility in the northwest of Bali.
Emphasis is given to the assessment of the existing fish farming operations with respect to farm location, ECC and biosecurity. A management plan with proper siting of farms, limits of fish farm production and an enhanced biosecurity framework is proposed for the site in Bali.
Existing regulations are reviewed and recommendations are made for boosting the industry in Indonesia.