If people aren’t laughing at your goal, then it’s not crazy enough. This fisherman can definitely relate to the saying as he was once labelled ‘crazy’ for thinking out of the box and moving away from fishing to fish farming.
Now, he’s a self-made millionaire and one of the biggest fish farmers in his district. Guys, meet 38-year-old fish farmer, Tuan Fakaruddin Tuan Kadir from Besut, Terengganu.
According to Harian Metro, Fakaruddin was determined to work on this new idea that he believed would change his life forever. He went all out by selling the fishing boat left by his father and jumped into the unknown of fish farming with very little knowledge.
“In 2007, I started my business with only RM10,000. I was farming wild groupers and sea bass but the groupers were only available from November to April.
“Then I was determined to try something new by learning about breeding hybrid groupers at the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI) Tanjung Demong,” Fakaruddin said.
Learning about the farming of hybrid groupers wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, as recounted by his wife, Zunainaa Abdul Majid.
Her husband was constantly mocked and undermined by the community who were mostly villagers, because they didn’t understand how fish farming works and plus, hybrid grouper wasn’t popular at that time.
“Those villagers said to me, ‘Are you crazy? Placing 500 fish in 500 litres of water will kill them!’ True enough, most of the fish died.
“Admittedly, I didn’t have much knowledge about fish farming at first, but thanks to the guidance from FRI and Department of Fisheries, I’ve made it and became the biggest supplier for hybrid groupers in the district,” he added.
He was able to expand his operation after the state government provided a site near Pantai Kampung Air Tawar for him to build a facility for hybrid grouper breeding. The buildings are worth RM500,000!
“Initially, I had 8 fish tanks, but now I have over 200 fish tanks which are used for different phases of breeding.”
Fakaruddin now employs 12 employees to run the operation and his success has not only benefited his family, but also some 30 locals who are now following his footsteps to farm hybrid groupers.
Source: Berita Harian
Hybrid groupers are much more resilient and grow faster with lesser defects. Besides, the farming process is relatively easy as well! As such, this fish has higher commercial value due to soaring domestic and international demands.
“According to the market price, 1 million hybrid groupers’ eggs can fetch between RM6,000 and RM10,000. Meanwhile, a fish fry measuring four to five inches can be sold for RM5 to RM7,” he said, adding that the number of fish fry he is capable of supplying is at least 30,000 per month.
Now we know why he’s a millionaire.
Fakaruddin’s success has inspired many to jump into this field. The state government and FRI Tanjung Demong are also ready to assist anyone who’s interested in farming hybrid groupers.
Anyone thinking of a career change?
Also read: M’sian Billionaire, Vincent Tan’s Rags-to-Riches Story Teaches Us 8 Inspiring Lessons
