Specification :

Full-cycle aquaculture (the use of hatchery-reared fingerlings) of many grouper species is becoming more common throughout Asia. Grouper are cultured at various scales in every country of Southeast Asia – Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. While currently making up only about 10–15 per cent of the total trade, there is an increasing supply of full-cycle, cultured fish. The most importantsource countries are Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand. Grouper culture is also ongoing in Australia andthe People’s Republic of China, although the industry in these countries will not be discussed here.

Grouper culture is expanding in many areas of Indonesia. While there is no statistical data available on grouper culture in Indonesia, national aquaculture statistics show brackish water and cage culture growing at 8 and 16 per cent, respectively, during the 1990s. The primary areas for grouper grow-out culture in Indonesia are Aceh, north Sumatra (Nias and Sibolga), Riau Islands, Bangka Islands, Lampung, west Java,KarimunjawaIslands(centralJava), Teluk Saleh (west Nusa Tenggara), south Sulawesi, north Sulawesi and southeast Sulawesi. Grouper culture is generally characterised in Indonesia by the use of wild-caught seed and use of trash fish for feed. There is limited use of hatchery-reared seed, although this is growing.
Grouper are primarily grown-out in net cages. There is some limited pond grow-out culture, particularly for small size classes, but a general shortage of land for ponds has been identified (Sadovy 2000).
There has been a good deal of research on hatchery production of grouper. This has been stimulated by thedevelopment of a large number of milkfish hatcheries near the Gondol station and by increased interest from these private hatcheries in Bali and throughout Indonesia to produce grouper seed on a commercial basis. At the Gondol Research Institute for Mariculture on the north coast of Bali, the mass seed production of Cromileptes altivelis has been successful. Broodstock have been able to spawn naturally all year round, although the survival rates of larvae are low at the early stage. There are slow growth rate and disease problems at the grow-out stage.
Some private hatcheries have succeeded in seed production, applying technologies learned from the Gondol station. In addition, humpback grouper seed has been provided from the station to many aquaculture operations in Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia and Southeast Asia for grow-out. The Gondol station has also succeeded in full-cycle culture of E. fuscoguttatus. The spawning period for this species in the hatchery has been found to be very short, only three to four days a month, and not all year round. Survival rates are low due to high levels of cannibalism, although survival rate and growth rate in cages is high. Many of the hatcheries in Bali culture several species of fish in addition to grouper such as sea bass, milkfish and humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus).