SINGAPORE – Two more fish farms have joined pioneer Heng Heng Fish Farm in producing marine tilapia, a hardy and fast-growing food fish.
By using more sustainable farming methods such as food pellets, which are less polluting than expired bread, and by farming the fish in salt water instead of fresh water, Millenia Farm and Grand Pacific Fishery hope to make tilapia – often shunned by consumers because of its “muddy” taste – a more palatable choice.
Indeed, when The Straits Times tried the four marine tilapia dishes cooked by a foodcourt stall in Yew Tee Square, the textural contrast between the marine tilapia’s firm bite and its delicate sweetness and its freshwater counterpart was evident.
The farms are part of a national effort to transform Singapore’s aquaculture sector into one that is productive, climate-resilient and resource-efficient, with the Government working with industry players to find innovative ways to grow more with less.
Tilapia, for instance, takes up to seven months to grow and costs less than half the price of barramundi (Asian sea bass), which takes 1½ years.
The three farms – the first to join the Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (Safef) – are adopting more sustainable practices set out in the Good Aquaculture Practice for Fish Farming (GAP-FF). This is a set of guidelines established by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to ensure safe and quality fish farming.
Safef has been trying to raise the productivity and farming standards of coastal fish farms, as well reducing the environmental impact of these farms along the Johor Strait, which makes up the majority of aquaculture farms here.
For Mr Ken Cheong, who took over as chief executive officer of Safef in mid-2023, his priority has been to ensure the business viability of farms in the Johor Strait.
One of the first things Safef had to do was to ensure that all three farms that had joined the federation switch to pellet food. Expired bread and baked goods, which are cheaper than protein-rich pellets, are often fed to fish but pollute the saltwater environment and lower oxygen levels, which makes the environment unhealthier for fish.