Junz (left) shows fresh sea cucumber.
KOTA KINABALU: Pulau Gaya has been earmarked as a potential site for sea cucumber farming. This comes following Datuk Junz Wong’s visit to Pulau Gaya on Friday.
When met by reporters, the state Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry said, “The visit to Pulau Gaya together with officers from the Fisheries Department was to inspect a few suitable spots to create a sea cucumber industry.”
He said there is a huge potential that awaits exploration for the benefit of Sabahans in many different sectors.
“Think of it this way.
“Apart from the farmers who will be able to generate income from the sale of sea cucumbers, those in the tourism industry will also benefit as there are wider eco aqua tourism attractions. Don’t forget that sea cucumbers contribute to conservation efforts. So this is an aspect that will benefit our marine ecosystem in the long run.”
Pulau Gaya has the potential for sea cucumber farming.
He added that this sea cucumber hatchery is part of an overall plan to be implemented through the Sabah Agriculture Blueprint 2021-2030.
“Initiatives like this sea cucumber hatchery are actually part and parcel of the Sabah Agriculture Blueprint 2021 – 2030. If you have been following closely the progress of my ministry, you will see a pattern whereby this sea cucumber hatchery in Pulau Gaya, the mud crab hatchery and fish fry hatchery in Sandakan, the bird’s nest collection efforts in
Kimanis, the fruits collection centre in Beaufort and so forth they all complement each other to lift up Sabah’s economy as a whole.”