1. SINGAPORE COUNTRY PAPER
AGRI-FOOD & VETERINARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
VINCENT ONG
CURRENT SITUATION & EMERGING ISSUES
OF AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION
Introduction
Singapore is a small country state (land area of 710 km2) with a demographic
profile of almost 5 million in population (Singapore Statistics, 2010a). The waters
surrounding Singapore covers an approximate of 10 km 2 and much is being used as
shipping channels. As the population increases, the demand for foodstuff rises, with the
country consuming an estimate of 548 kg per capita in 2008 (Singapore Statistics, 2010b).
With limited natural resources and land space for farming, Singapore depends heavily on
importation of foodstuff from neighboring countries for fresh produce (Tey et al.) As the
country progresses, the government began phasing out terrestrial farming in the early
1980s to free up more land space for housing development in response to the growing
population. As Singapore embarked on development in its industrial capacity (Chou and
Chan, 2002), the aquaculture scene was seen to be viable in contributing to the food
supply and resilience to the nation’s well being without compromising valuable land
space.
1. Overview of aquaculture production and quality control of the country
Singapore, with its limited land and sea area, has a small but strategically
important foodfish aquaculture industry, currently producing about 5% of the estimated
100,000 tonnes of fish consumed annually with potential for rapid growth in the near
future.
In the early days, marine fish farming was done by catching juvenile fishes and
stocking them into makeshift netpens for growout on trashfish. Gradually, farming was
shifted to high-valued species and traditional catch-and-culture method was soon
replaced by purchase orders of intended species fingerlings for grow-out to be sold for

2. ready markets at harvestable sizes. The main bulk of foodfish production comes from
coastal farming in floating netcages along East and West Johor Straits with a total of 106
marine fish farms covering 85.5 hectares of sea space. In 2008, these coastal farms
produced a total of 3,235 tonnes, of which 52% was finfish and 48% shellfish.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is the national
authority for aquaculture development for Singapore and manages aquaculture farm
through the issuance of farm licenses. For marine foodfish farms, the farm licensee has to
abide by good farm management guidelines to maintain the farm in good condition and
ensure that the farm does not engage in activities that would pollute the farm waters. For
land-based farms, there are also guidelines that address infrastructure layout, farming
system and water treatment facilities. The latter requires that sedimentation ponds,
reservoir ponds/tanks, supply and drainage systems, trade effluent treatment and
sampling plant are included in the farm set-up.
2. Typical fisheries species produced and quality control technology
Land-based foodfish farms which occupy an area of 16.1ha in total, account for
282.3 tons of freshwater foodfish, valued at S$1.66 million. Main species cultured
include the giant snakehead (Channa micropeltes) and tilapia (Oreochromis spp.). Other
species include marble goby (Oxyeleotris mamorata), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis)
and catfish (Clarias batrochus). Marine fish farming in Singapore is mainly confined to,
the East and West Johor Straits. Common marine foodfish species cultured include
Seabass (Lates calcarifer), groupers (Epinephelus spp.), snappers (Lutjanus spp.),
milkfish (Chanos chanos) and mullet (Mugil spp.). Green mussel (Perna viridis) is
farmed mainly along the West Johor Straits that forms the bulk of shellfish production in
Singapore.
3. Fisheries processing and packaging technologies
Post-harvest technology encompasses areas of harvest, handling, slaughter,
processing, packaging, manufacturing, storage, transport, distribution and display,
through to the point of sale or the time of consumption. In Singapore, harvesting of live
aquaculture stocks is generally done by harvesting and loading into boats with

3. transportation tanks to be shipped to designated markets and sold live. Fishes generally
ranges from 600 – 800 grams as per market demand. Although live seafood fetches a
premium price, the market for vacuum-sealed chilled or frozen fishes also plays a
considerable part in the economics. Seafood products such as; surimi, fish ball, chikuwa
sticks and otah goes through seasoning which in turn vacuum packed for freshness and
easy storage. More labour intensive packaging involving live products, example; cockles
are washed, deshelled and packed into a clear plastic bag to be chilled and sold to buyers.
4. Marketing issues
The markets for most aquaculture products are influenced by supply and demand
conditions in their industry and changes in these. For products of aquaculture business
that are price-takers instead of price-makers, the standard economic analysis of purely
competitive market is relevant (Lucas and Southgate, 2003). The quality demanded of an
aquaculture product depends on many factors. Factors such as its price per unit, the
income levels of buyers, price of substitutes, tastes, and so on, can all be expected to have
an influence.
5. Constraints in aquaculture production and quality control
Aquaculture, as with all other food production practices, is facing challenges for
sustainable development. An example of Singapore’s contribution to sustainable
aquaculture is through the development of technology for consistent and economical
mass production of fish seeds under controlled conditions. This approach will alleviate
the pressure on nature to provide the seeds for farming and would make available large
numbers of quality fish for small and large-scale commercial aquaculture. AVA has
established the Marine Aquaculture Centre (MAC) on St John’s Island to address the
needs of aquaculture development for Singapore through fish reproduction and seed
production technology development as well as large- scale fish farming technology
development.
At present, the fish reproduction technology research work involves the closing
the reproductive cycles of key marine food fish species and also fry production at a
commercial scale level. Closing the reproductive cycles will eliminate the reliance and

4. alleviate the pressure on wild seed stock. Good quality brooders are selected, maintained
and bred to produce quality fry, which would indirectly translate to better growth
performances and shorter culture period. This, together with good farm management
practices, will optimize the usage of fish feeds during the culture cycle. The usage of
vaccination for fish health management purpose is also looked into with the purpose to
reduce the reliance on prophylactic drugs in the future. Antibiotics or chemicals if not
administered properly for treatment may have negative consequences. One of them is
drug residues in aquatic products, which in turn give food safety and heath risk concerns,
others include adverse effects on the environment or may even build up resistance of
pathogens and cause ecological upsets.
6. Recommendations for regional cooperation in development of aquaculture production
and trade
In the past, the focus of attention in aquaculture management had been on
increasing yield by culture practices, with a view to short-term economic viability. With
the current rate of depleting marine resources, there is an urgent need to develop
aquaculture in a sustainable way. Current efforts and future developments such as
implementation of surveillance programmes, personnel training, fish nutrition and
feeding, fish health, the establishment of good aquaculture practices, monitoring of the
fish farming environment, seawater re-use and information sharing will facilitate working
towards the development of sustainable aquaculture in Singapore.

5. Reference
- Chou, L.M., Chan, W.T., 2002. Industrial Development in the Coastal Area in
Singapore and the Management of Marine Pollution pp 35-47 [IN] Industrial
Development in Coastal Areas of South-East Asia. Workshop Proceedings. Hanoi,
Vietnam, 25-27 June 2001. 184pp. Feoli, E. and Ghibri, M. (Eds); publ. United
Nations Industrial Development Organization.
- Lucas and Southgate, 2003. Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants.
Chap 12, pp 240.
- Singapore Government, 2010a. Statistics Singapore, [Taken on 14 March 2010]
From: www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/keyind.html
- Singapore Government, 2010b. Statistics, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of
Singapore [Taken on 14 March 2010] From:
http://www.ava.gov.sg/Publications/Statistics/#capita
- Tey, Y.S., Suryani, D., Emmy, F.A., Illisriyani,I., 2009. Food consumption and
expenditures in Singapore: implications to Malaysia’s agricultural exports.
International Food Research Journal 16, pp 119-126.