A quarter of fish farms shut down in past year, some of which took up $100,000 SFA support package
Cheryl Tan and Ng Keng Gene, Straits Times 26 Oct 2024
SINGAPORE – About a quarter of Singapore’s sea-based fish farms have exited the industry over the past year, with some farm operators saying they had accepted a financial support package from the authorities to wind up operations.
Singapore Food Agency (SFA) figures showed that there were 74 sea-based fish farms in October 2024, down from 98 in 2023, according to its 2023 food statistics report. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of sea-based fish farms held steady at about 110.
At least five fish farm operators that The Straits Times spoke to said they were offered a support package from SFA to ease the financial burden of winding up their operations.
Farmers said they had a year – between July 2023 and June 2024 – to take up the package to help them reinstate the sea space their farms occupied.
ST has asked SFA how many farmers accepted this package, which amounted to up to $100,000.
The support package comes as sea-based fish farms in Singapore are being transitioned to a new sea space management model by the SFA, which the agency announced in 2022.
Farms will have to pay for the use of sea spaces under the new scheme, which took effect in 2024. They did not have to previously.
For fish farm operators, this means that the cost of maintaining a farm is expected to increase, with farms set to pay $3,600 per year to use half a hectare of sea space from 2026, in addition to a $145 annual farm licence fee.
Farmers are currently paying 20 per cent of the $3,600 fee in 2024, and will pay 50 per cent in 2025, to mitigate the impact of the increase.
Those who opted for the support package cited factors such as higher costs and changing environmental conditions that could impact yield. Some also decided to retire.
Mr Joseph Wee, owner of Aquablue, a farm that reared grouper and lobster, told ST that he shut down his farm in the East Johor Strait in June 2024, after taking up a $100,000 support package from SFA.
Mr Wee, 63, said about 30 per cent of the entire sum was disbursed before the reinstatement of his farm’s space – which refers to demolishing existing structures there – while the remainder was given after the demolition was completed.
Farmers said they were required to engage marine scanning services to ensure no infrastructural debris had been left on the seabed.
Mr Wee, who had been farming for about 15 years, said he spent around $40,000 on disposing of his farm and the surveys, allowing him to pocket the remaining $60,000 as retirement savings.
He said he decided to retire when the offer came along because of high labour costs and the significant level of investments needed to maintain the farming structures over the years.
“As the farming structures are made from wood, these would slowly deteriorate over the years, after being exposed to the seawater and rain, and need constant repair and maintenance,” said Mr Wee.
He had initially planned to sell his farm and transfer the licence to the buyer, but said SFA did not allow this.
“This leaves us with no choice but to either bite the bullet and continue farming, or shut down our farm and exit the industry,” he added.
SFA had told ST that the Government provided farmers who chose to exit the industry with support to reinstate their farm space, as well as job-matching and training for those who opted for a career switch.
Some farmers said it has been difficult to profitably meet SFA’s annual minimum productivity levels of 17 tonnes per half hectare of sea space they occupy.
SFA said such requirements have been part of the licensing conditions since the 1990s, and are in place due to space constraints.
The agency added that it will support farmers who are keen to increase productivity, by providing account managers to assist and advise them, as well as through funding support for technology adoption.
All of the sea-based fish farms currently in operation in Singapore are located in the Johor Strait – the narrow body of water between Singapore and Malaysia.
But farmers have expressed concern about deteriorating water quality, due to surrounding industrial activity, port operations, and nutrient build-up over the years, causing harmful algae blooms that can kill hundreds of fish at one go.
ST had reported in 2020 that an SFA-commissioned study found that the Johor Strait is nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels. Any production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones, impacting productivity.
Mr Wee recalled enduring two significant “red tides” over the years, caused by algae blooms which brought about widespread fish deaths, costing him significant financial losses.
But at least two fish farmers are opting to stay put.
Heng Heng Fish Farm co-owner Alvin Yeo, 35, said he intends to continue the family business by farming tilapia, a more sustainable food fish than the milkfish the farm used to grow. This is because milkfish are often fed expired bread and other confectionery, which pollute the waters.
“We don’t know if the lease will end up becoming way too expensive compared with the amount that we currently pay on a yearly basis, and if it does, it will end up being unsustainable for us to continue farming,” he said.
Farming tilapia has also allowed the farm to tap an existing initiative that helps to connect farmers to large retailers like FairPrice and wet markets, said Mr Yeo, providing more impetus for him to stay.
The Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (Safef) aggregates marine tilapia – of at least 400g in weight – from some nine local fish farms and hatcheries so far, and sells the fish under the brand name of The Straits Fish.
Mr Joe Ng from Century Aquaculture, who breeds tilapia fingerlings, or baby fish, said that he has seen demand increase for his fish in recent months because of the Safef initiative.
The hatchery currently breeds its own marine tilapia species and produces some 100,000 to 150,000 fingerlings a month, which are supplied to around five or six farms, mostly in the waters off Lim Chu Kang.
Mr Ng expects demand to grow further in the coming months, and will be scaling up operations to produce some 500,000 fingerlings monthly.
Mr Daniel Tay from Straits Seafood said the Safef initiative has given him a lifeline. Instead of taking up the $100,000 support package, he is revamping operations to produce tilapia at the scale needed.
For instance, the farm now regularly tracks fish growth and monitors the prevalence of disease, with the help of aquaculture consultant AquaFarms Advisors.
“We used to farm species like the Asian sea bass and red snapper, but production was not consistent due to the lack of sufficient demand,” he added.
The farm had also suffered a dip in sales every time fish prices in Malaysia dropped, he said.
“Now, with a guaranteed buyer as long as we adhere to good aquaculture practices, there’s a future for fish farming,” he added.
Existing fish farms will have to pay for use of sea spaces
a space. Farmers pay only for the yearly renewal of their fish culture farm licences. PHOTO: ST FILE
Audrey Tan and Shabana Begum Straits Times 31 May 2022
SINGAPORE - From next year, fish farms operating in Singapore's coastal waters will have to pay for the use of sea spaces, which are becoming increasingly sought after for various purposes such as for solar panel deployment or other maritime, industrial or recreational activities.
Currently, sea-based farms do not pay for the use of sea space. Farmers pay only for the yearly renewal of their fish culture farm licences, which is currently $850 per half-hectare per year.
This means that unlike land-based farms, coastal fish farms do not have leases that provide certainty on their use of sea spaces.
Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Desmond Tan said on Monday (March 7) during the debate on his ministry's budget that this lack of lease mechanism for sea-based farms is causing uncertainty for farmers.
This uncertainty can hinder farmers from making investments in high-technology farming solutions that could boost yields, as Singapore moves to increase local food production to secure food security.
"We will offer leases to all sea-based farms in the longer term," Mr Tan said.
Existing farms will be eased into this arrangement starting with yearly renewable temporary occupation licences from Jan 1 next year.
By then, the fish farm license fees will be reduced from the current $850 per half-hectare to $145.
New farm applications and farms with major changes to their farming activities will be subject to a one-off assessment fee, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment is the parent ministry of SFA.
The temporary occupation licence, which must also be renewed annually, will cost $3,600 per half-hectare in the Johor Strait - the narrow body of water to the north of Singapore where most of the Republic's 110 licensed fish farms are located.
In the southern waters, where the Barramundi Group now operates across two sites, the temporary occupation licence will be $6,000 per half-hectare.
SFA said the valuation of sea-based farms takes into account factors such as "locational attributes".
The Straits Times had earlier reported that an SFA-commissioned study had found that the Johor Strait is nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels. Production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones and impact productivity.
SFA said in a separate statement to ST that the temporary occupation licence for existing farmers will be renewed annually within a 10-year transition period, as long as the Government does not have plans for the space and farms meet the requirements of this license.
To mitigate this cost, however, the Government will adopt a phased approach to ease the farms towards a lease instrument, said the SFA.
"Farms will only start paying 20 per cent (of the temporary occupation licence fees) in 2024, 50 per cent in 2025, and 100 per cent from 2026," the spokesman added.
In Parliament on Monday, Mr Tan also said new land and sea parcels will benefit from longer-term leases of 20 plus 10 years.
"This means that future tenders will offer farmers the option of extending their lease beyond the initial 20-year period for an additional 10 years, subject to farms meeting SFA's production output conditions," he added.
This will apply to new land parcels in Sungei Tengah and Lim Chu Kang, as well as new sea space tenders that will be launched from the end of this year.
More details will be announced by SFA when the tenders are launched, Mr Tan added.
In 2019, Singapore set itself a target of meeting 30 per cent of the country's food needs locally by 2030.
To help it achieve this target, the Republic is broadening its focus beyond leafy vegetables, eggs and food fish to other food types, such as fruited crops like tomatoes, as well as mushrooms and shrimp.
Mr Tan said the Government will expand the scope of the Agri-food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund - which farmers can tap to deploy yield-improving innovations and technologies - to allow more food types that are commonly consumed in Singapore to benefit from higher co-funding.
From April 1, farms producing shrimp, mushrooms and fruited vegetables can tap a higher co-funding quantum of 70 per cent, or up to $6 million, under the ACT.
This is an increase from 50 per cent of the co-funding for those food types, when the $60 million ACT Fund was launched last year.
This means that the three food types will have similar co-funding caps as leafy vegetables, fish and eggs, which already had a 70 per cent co-funding since the ACT started.
The five-year ACT Fund comprises three co-funding components for local agri-food companies to transform their farming systems and increase productivity and yields. The three components are technology upscaling, innovation and test bedding, and capability upgrading.
New ACT Fund applications received from April 1 will be reviewed using the new co-funding criteria, said SFA.
There are currently 29 licensed crop farms here that can grow fruited vegetables such as cherry tomatoes. Among those, four of them are indoor or rooftop farms.
There are six mushroom and shrimp farms here, of which four are located indoors or on rooftops.
Mr Tan added that food supply resilience is crucial during this time as the pandemic and war in Ukraine is leading to volatility in food supply and prices globally.
"We can expect to feel the impact in the coming months," he said.
He encouraged the public to support and buy local produce.
"Without strong local demand, our farmers would find it hard to sustain a high level of production."
As some fish farms in Johor Strait near maximum production levels, authorities eye southern expansion
Audrey Tan Straits Times 3 Apr 2020
SINGAPORE - The fish-rearing capacity of the narrow body of water to Singapore's north, where almost all the nation's off-shore fish farms are located, could soon reach maximum production levels as the country scales up local food production.
So to further boost the Republic's resilience against disruptions to global supply chains, as what is currently happening amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the authorities have now set their sights on the nation's southern waters for aquaculture.
A spokesman for the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said: "SFA has conducted a broad scan of the southern waters for potential aquaculture sites and is targeting for sustainable farming systems to be adopted at those sites. Various spatial, production and environmental constraints were taken into consideration to determine potential sites."
There is only one deep-sea fish farm in the southern Singapore Strait, Barramundi Asia, which occupies two sites. Over in the Johor Strait are 108 coastal fish farms that make up the bulk of Singapore's 110 licensed sea-based fish farm sites.
Last year, local farms produced some 4,700 tonnes of fish - amounting to 10 per cent of total consumption.
The Straits Times has learnt that a study commissioned by the SFA has shown that certain sites north of the mainland are nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels.
Production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones and impact farm productivity, the SFA spokesman said.
But the study also found that overall, implementing management measures would support higher production levels of the aquaculture zones there, an SFA spokesman said. She did not elaborate on what these measures would entail, but said the agency would be engaging stakeholders such as nature groups and farmers as part of the agency's planning and assessment for the development of the aquaculture zones in the Strait of Johor.
Science-based strategies
Professor Dean Jerry, an aquaculture expert, said expanding aquaculture zones could dramatically increase home-grown aquaculture products, especially as companies move towards a high-volume, industrial-scale production model.
"Marine aquaculture, if done on an industrial-scale, is one of the most efficient animal protein producing sectors available," said Prof Jerry, director of the Tropical Futures Institute at James Cook University Singapore.
"Opening up new areas for aquaculture and encouraging innovative and industrial-scale operators to take up sites could double current production volumes very quickly once farms are established."
But industrial aquaculture also comes with its challenges, he said, pointing to factors such as the need for good disease control and tailoring fish feed to the species being reared in order to achieve maximum productivity.
The marine environment the fish is reared in is also important, he said. Unlike land-based fish farms, where fish are reared in enclosed tanks, many off-shore fish farms keep their fish in netted pens in the sea, which means the fish are exposed to the surrounding environmental conditions.
Prof Jerry said that in Singapore, the carrying capacity of a body of water for aquaculture depends on how the marine environment copes with additional pressure.
Considerations include whether there is enough dissolved oxygen in the water to accommodate more fish, or if the ecosystem can process fish waste or uneaten food in a way that does not cause any imbalance to the water's nutrient level.
An imbalance in the amount of nutrients such as nitrogen, which is present in fish waste, could cause harmful algae blooms. These blooms have in the past resulted in mass fish deaths in Singapore.
Other considerations
But beyond the ecological considerations, observers and industry players say other factors could also determine Singapore's aquaculture output levels.
Demand for local produce is one factor.
A spokesman for Barramundi Asia said the company produces about 700 tonnes of fish annually, with about 60 tonnes harvested on a monthly basis.
But due to the decline in sales to restaurants and hotels in the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the company has been harvesting lower volumes of fish over the past two months, he said.
"During this crisis, we hope consumers will choose to support local produce and purchase our Kuhlbarra barramundi from our online store," he added.
Over the longer term, Barramundi Asia has a plan to farm over 5,000 tonnes of fish in Singapore between 2026 and 2030 in support of the Singapore Government's target of meeting 30 per cent of nutritional needs with locally grown or reared produce by 2030.
But the spokesman added: "Our biggest challenges to ramping up production includes not having access to additional marine sea leases to scale-up production and lack of growth financing to support our expansion plans in a sustainable way."
So the news that there were plans to increase aquaculture zones in the south was welcome news indeed, he said.
Another consideration in space-constrained Singapore is the competing use for marine space, noted Prof Jerry.
"Other challenges to expanding aquaculture in the southern waters could relate to safe shipping, recreational use, and building up the infrastructure for energy supply for farming operations," he added.
Singapore's southern waters are more open than the Johor Strait, which is sheltered from oceanic currents due to the Causeway and land masses sandwiching the narrow body of water.
As a result, the Republic's southern waters are home to unique habitats not found in the north, such as coral reefs. These habitats can support marine life ranging from dolphins to reef sharks and sea turtles. The Sisters' Islands Marine Park, Singapore's one and only marine park, is also located off the southern coast.
Mr Stephen Beng, chair of the Friends of Marine Park community said the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak has showed that planning for Singapore's food security over the long-term is crucial for the nation's survival.
But the impact of aquaculture on the natural marine environment must be a key consideration, he said.
"It's not as easy to control the negative impacts of sea farms than it is with land ones. We can't put fences or drains in the sea to stop pollution and disease," said Mr Beng, who is also chair of the Nature Society's (Singapore) marine conservation group.
"Efforts must focus first on northern farms to be as productive as they can be, with control measures in place before considerations for more in the south," he added, pointing to the need for rigorous environmental impact assessments ahead of any operations that could potentially cause pollution.
The SFA said it will be engaging the nature groups to ensure that measures are put in place so aquaculture activities do not adversely impact the marine environment.
Its spokesman added: "We will also conduct a detailed study of the potential environmental impact for each potential site."