March 21, 2011

Singapore to increase productivity in fish farms

In order to produce 15% of fish consumed locally, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is increasing efforts to assist local fish farms to raise productivity.

Over the next few months, AVA will be visiting every fish farm to understand the farmers' needs so that it can help them to develop plans to achieve minimum production targets. There are currently 111 fish farms in Singapore. Of these, 95 are coastal farms and the other 16 comprise deep sea farms, hatcheries, industrial-scale farms and oyster or shellfish farms. These farms produce about 4% of Singapore's total fish consumption.

As part of AVA's licensing conditions for coastal fish farms, the farms are required to meet a minimum production target of 17 tonnes of fish per half-hectare space annually.

Of the 95 coastal farms, 23 are currently producing more than the minimum production level of 17 tonnes.