By: Agis Riyani & M Budi Santosa (WWF-Indonesia Aquaculture Team)

Pangasius or catfish is one of the leading commodities of freshwater aquaculture in Indonesia. Physically, patin fish is somewhat different from other types of fish, such as not having scales; however, it has two pairs of mouthparts/whiskers, so that at first glance it resembles a catfish. Patin fish cultivation is often found in several regions in Indonesia such as Jambi, South Sumatra, West Java, and South Kalimantan.

Various processed catfish menu offerings are also commonly found in a number of restaurants in Indonesia such as grilled catfish, pindang catfish, and shredded catfish. For export purposes, catfish is processed into fillets, also known as dory. The selling price of catfish is also very high, making it a promising export commodity.

Currently, the practice of catfish farming in Indonesia itself is faced with various challenges such as increasing the need for quality seeds; increasing the need for feed; decreasing water quality and the environment; the threat of disease attacks; inefficient and effective cultivation techniques; the use of chemicals; poor post-harvest handling; low purchasing power and competitiveness for domestic and export markets; as well as social issues and business legality, including the suitability of cultivation activities with regional spatial planning.

As one of the efforts to deal with these problems, WWF-Indonesia has developed an environmentally friendly patin fish farming guide, entitled "Better Management Practices (BMP) for Patin Fish Farming". The stages of preparing this BMP are:

• Field data collection;
• Discussions involving experts on catfish farming from government agencies, academics, and grouper fish farmers;
• Literature study of other research results.

This BMP is a flexible (living document), which will continue to be refined in accordance with developments in the field and input from relevant parties. "Patin Fish Farming BMP" is one of WWF-Indonesia's contributions in supporting the improvement of environmentally friendly aquaculture. This BMP can be used by small and medium scale catfish farmers.