The Great Potential of Sengarat Fish (Belodontichthys dinema, Bleeker 1851) to Become an Aquaculture Commodity in Buluh Nipis Village, Siak Hulu District, Kampar Regency

Sengarat fish, with the Latin name Belodontichthys dinema, Bleeker 1851, is a fishery commodity with high economic value and became a proud species of the community and was used as an icon of Riau Province. The current condition is that the existence of Sengarat Fish continues to decline due to overfishing, the use of fishing gear that is not environmentally friendly, and habitat destruction. Therefore, it is necessary to domesticate as an effort to develop sengarat fish into one of the aquaculture commodities. This study aims to determine the ecological value and economic status from the angle of fishing fishers and collecting traders, as well as the public’s interest in sengarat fish farming. The research was conducted in Buluh Nipis Village, Siak Hulu District, Kampar Regency, in July 2022. The method used is a description analysis obtained from literature, interviews, and surveys. The respondents used for interviews and surveys were ten people with the status of capture fishers and one gathering merchant. The Kampar river environment, which is used as a sengarat fishing ground, has a reasonably good condition but has experienced siltation due to the conversion of land into oil palm plantations along the watershed. Based on interviews, the catch of sengarat fish by fishers has declined over the past five years. This is characterized by not every day sengarat fish caught and only existing in certain months or seasons. The economic status of sengarat fish is high economic fish, characterized by a reasonably high selling price in the market, which ranges from Rp.130,000 to Rp.150,000-per kilogram. The status of sengarat fish farming is that wild fish are still being caught in the country, and there is no technology or effort to cultivate them.