Lobster farming: Father of two turns hobby into money-making business

KANGAR: What began as a hobby for Mohd Shafiq Osman, 31, has turned into a money-making venture. The father of two began rearing lobsters in his past-time three years ago and he is now earning RM5,000 a month by farming them on a small scale around his house.

Mohd Shafiq from Kampung Behor Ganchiar said he started selling freshwater ‘cherax quadricarinatus’ lobsters and their fry in 2018, and today he has nine ponds of them.

“In a month, I can produce about 4,000 to 5,000 lobster fry.

"The one-inch (2.5-cm) lobster fry are sold at RM1 each while the three-inch lobster fingerlings are RM3 each," he told Bernama recently.

Mohd Shafiq said rearing lobsters was not difficult and it took about two months before the lobsters could be marketed after reaching a size of one inch and above.

“The response has been very encouraging and I am still unable to meet the demand for it (as food) because I have a limited number of freshwater ponds.

"Lobsters to be sold for their meat must reach a size of six inches and above, which is usually after reaching the age of four to five months, depending on their size," he said.

Mohd Shafiq’s aims to have bigger ponds in the future to enable him to breed lobsters for the seafood market.

“Small-scale lobster farms do not require large capital, as breeders can also feed the lobsters with food that is easily available such as potatoes, carrots, spinach and so on,” he said.

Apart from rearing lobsters, Mohd Shafiq also does aquatic farming and sells ornamental fish and also fiberglass tanks at his house.

Meanwhile, Perlis executive councillor for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Nurulhisham Yaakob said the lobster market was very encouraging and he urged young people to go into the business.

"I understand that the Malaysia Fisheries Department offers advice, assistance and information to those who are interested in venturing into this field," he said.

He added that although the country was being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture sector was operating as usual and did not have to worry about marketing the produce.

-- BERNAMA