Singapore has revealed its first urban fish farm, housed within a nondescript grey shipping container, aiming to contribute to the city-state’s ambitious goal of producing 30% of its food by 2030. The project, named ‘Our Fish Storey,’ is initiated by start-up Aqualita Ecotechnology in collaboration with the local council. Situated in Tampines, a central Singapore suburb, the farm will focus on cultivating jade perch as a “litmus test” to assess consumer interest and feasibility.
Goh Chin Heng, the director of Aqualita Ecotechnology, emphasized the flexibility of the urban fish farm model, utilizing underutilized spaces within the city for fish cultivation. The approach, known as a recirculating aquaculture system, not only enhances fishing efficiency but also reduces pollution caused by uneaten feed and eliminates the need for antibiotics, crucial for combating antibiotic resistance.
The start-up estimates that one shipping container, costing nearly £18,000 to set up (excluding land costs), could yield up to 1,200kg of jade perch annually, with the potential for cultivating other fish varieties like barramundi, tilapia, and red snapper. The project’s innovative use of recirculating aquaculture technology has drawn praise for its application in Singapore’s context, characterized by land scarcity.
Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, a senior director of Aquatic Food Systems at CGIAR and Director General of WorldFish, hailed the initiative as a great application of recirculating aquaculture technologies to Singapore’s unique challenges. While acknowledging setup costs and technical expertise requirements, Dr. Mohammed highlighted the critical role such initiatives can play in bolstering global and national food security.
Singapore’s move towards urban farming, including vertical farms, aligns with the government’s ’30 by 30′ food goal, aiming to reduce reliance on imports. With only about 10% of food currently produced domestically, the high-tech, resource-efficient agriculture industry is seen as pivotal to achieving this target. The urban fish farm in a shipping container represents a novel and sustainable approach to addressing food insecurity and climate change challenges.