Aquaculture industry a major focus area in Sarawak ­— Inside Investors

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KUCHING: The establishment of the aquaculture industry is evidently feasible as Sarawak has huge land banks and inland waterway systems that can be developed for commercial aquaculture projects.

Inside Investors noted in its Inside Investors 2013 report that the fisheries department has identified two such areas covering 8,567 hectares as the master plan for aquaculture development in the state.

Such projects as these have signaled interest to work in accordance with the development strategies of Entry Point Projects outlined in the tenth Malaysia Plan, which calls for the establishment of four integrated cage fish farms and six integrated aquaculture industrial zones.

“The masterplan for these projects calls for the development of the of the fisheries sector away from traditional practices towards larger commercial ventures that will be enabled by the private sector,” noted the business intelligence unit.

“Malaysia’s competitive price for fish on the wholesale market, which hangs between RM1 to RM1.50 depending on the season, as well as the projected increase in demand for the food commodity makes aquaculture a priority industry,” observed Fisheries Malaysia director, Datuk Ahmad Sabki Mahmud.

During high season, tenggiri fish has been sold between RM26 and RM27 per kilogramme, sardines between RM6 to RM7 and prawns RM19 to RM26 per kilogramme based on size he noted.