I don't create 'monster' fish

A scientist’s quest for faster-growing red snapper

- Sharon Salim and Chong Jun Liang

I am 48 and a fish geneticist. A key part of my job is to collect data and identify genes that result in fish with better texture and nutritional quality, allowing local fish farmers to improve selective breeding programmes.

I've been researching food fish since 2012. I started with the Asian sea bass, the “poster fish” of Singapore. Today, I lead the Sustainable Aquaculture Technology Centre at Republic Polytechnic’s School of Applied Science.

My research is critical to Singapore's food security, as we import over 90 per cent of our food. The Government wants to strengthen local production of Asian sea bass, red snapper and marine tilapia — which are found in local delicacies like fish head curry and fish soup.

Sometimes when I tell people I’m a geneticist, they think I edit genes to produce “monster” fish. If you are familiar with the Jurassic Park movie series, the laboratory geneticists altered and mixed the DNA of several dinosaur species to develop scarier, larger new ones for park entertainment.

But my team does not manipulate or add foreign genes. In fact, we do “detective work” to understand the biology of fishes and identify which genes can produce superior fish.

If you are a fish farmer, you want heavy, beautiful fish with a good nutritional profile so that consumers buy them. However, the most desirable qualities in fish, such as size and colour, are visible only after they grow into adults.

Importantly, we also want faster-growing fish, as shorter production cycles boost outputs and profits for farms.

My team and I have developed the world’s first genomic selection tool for the Malabar red snapper.

It tests a small DNA sample - usually from a small clipping of the fish fin - and rapidly checks specific genetic markers for growth, nutritional quality, disease resistance and other important traits.