Vertical Land Based Aquaculture Farming in Brunei

Project a win-win partnership for Brunei, S’pore
on: February 14, 2017

| Lyna Mohamad |

THE Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Apong in his speech during yesterday’s signing and ground-breaking ceremony, said that it was a historic day for both Brunei and Singapore as the ceremony marked the beginning of the construction phase for the vertical land-based, bio-secured and high-density aquaculture farming in the country by KR Apollo Sdn Berhad.

The realisation of the vertical land-based aquaculture farm project will be the turning point for Brunei, which uses traditional extensive pond culture with low productivity to the multi-tiered, indoor and high-density systems of fish rearing which is energy efficient and environmentally responsible.

He also noted that 80 per cent of the total production today was generated by the capture fisheries, however, data has shown that the capture fisheries have been experiencing a downward trend, which is due to many factors such as natural environmental impacts as well as over-fishing.

“Although Brunei Darussalam is slightly bigger than Singapore, land limitation is also one of our constraints, and that is why we are focusing on the aquaculture industry. And yes, we need the right technology and system to expand our fish farming upwards instead of sideways,” said the minister.

The over BN$20 million investment will realise the production of aquaculture food-fish and aquarium fish from this year onwards, he said, adding that it is one of the key priority projects for the fisheries sector.

He further pointed out that the project is set to prove that high-technology, vertical indoor farming operation is not only technically possible in Brunei, but it is highly viable and in this particular case, it is also economically and socially beneficial for both countries because, Brunei needs increased economic output and job creation, while Singapore needs a lot of seafood supply.

Increasing output is also the cornerstone of the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism’s Strategic Plan, which was launched last month, added the minister.

“The use of technology in aquaculture is not just a matter of normal progression. It is a necessity for Brunei as it is consistent with our drive to improve productivity and to increase competitiveness, which will enable our products and services to penetrate the export market,” he said.

This, he added, is a win-win partnership for both countries as it will contribute to an increase in Brunei’s GDP and exports while supporting Singapore’s agenda for food security.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin