June 24, 2010

US-based Darden Aquafarm Inc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brunei on Monday (Jun 21) to help the country farm lobster on a commercial scale and meet burgeoning global demand for the product.

The Implementation Research and Development (R&D) Project was arranged by the Fisheries Department through the Ministry of Industry of Primary Resources (MIPR) and Darden AquaFarm, a subsidiary of Darden Inc, owner of Red Lobster and other US seafood restaurant chains.

Darden AquaFarm's cooperation with the Department of Fisheries will begin with a lobster stock assessment project in the waters of Brunei Darussalam to find out the amount and type of lobsters found in Brunei's waters, according to a released statement.

The assessment's outcome will resolve the aim of subsequent R&D projects for the middle and long term, the statement said.

"What we're doing is collecting some wild post-larvae, and then study the grow-outs so ultimately, what we hope this will come to is a commercial lobster grow-out project which can feed the world market, obviously from Brunei," said Bill Herzig, senior vice president of Darden Inc.

The project corresponds with the Department of Fisheries' aspiration to make Brunei Darussalam the "Centre of Aquaculture Technology and R&D Hub" of the region.

Local officers' knowledge and expertise will be improved through active exchanges and networking with world recognised experts and scientists who possess vast knowhow in the lobster sector.

Lobster fetches a steep price and high market demand, such that the commercial culture of lobster has an important potential because of its assured market. The global market demand for this shellfish reaches 150,000 tonnes per year.

However, as this demand has not yet been fully met and most of the lobster marketed comes from the wild, an opportunity exists for the aquaculture industry to meet consumers' demand across the globe.

Darden Inc is located in Orlando, Florida. It is the biggest chain of full service restaurants in the globe, with an annual sale of US$7.2 billion, and has some 180,000 workers on staff.