S'pore's tropical aquaculture tech expertise can be exported: SFA

As Singapore looks to ramp up its fish production for food security, the Republic's strengths in aquaculture technologies can be shared and exported to its neighbouring countries and other tropical marine regions.

- Shabana Begum

The technologies include intensive indoor farming systems, hatchery expertise and geneticsbased selective breeding to produce faster-growing and meatier Asian sea bass, or barramundi, said Dr Jiang Junhui, director of the Singapore Food Agency's (SFA) aquaculture department.

Tropical marine fishes - which include barramundi, tilapia, red snapper and grouper - comprise just a small percentage of fish production globally, and Singapore's farms focus on such species.

"Singapore has the opportunity to position itself as an R&D (research and development) hub for sustainable tropical aquaculture, and our companies can become a key exporter of (such) technologies and solutions," Dr Jiang added.

He was speaking at SFA's Marine Aquaculture Centre (MAC) on St John's Island on Monday during an event to mark MAC's 20th anniversary.

He noted that neighbouring countries rely on small-scale farming, with fisheries that can deplete fish stock. Selective breeding is also limited for popular tropical species such as groupers and snappers.

"Global trends show that aqua-culture will have to increase as captured fisheries Freshwater resources stagnate are limited, and therefore, more aquaculture production will be marine-based.