KUCHING: The Malaysian Fisheries Department has identified Sarawak as a promising platform for aquaculture development projects due to the state’s thriving sea and fresh water resources.
Its director-general Datuk Ismail Abu Hassan said among the huge potential for Sarawak was the integrated cage farming method which could yield tremendous economic benefits and its contribution to the nation’s food supply.
“The importance of our nation’s aquaculture projects are included in the Aquaculture Production Policy 50-50 which aims to produce 1.47 million metric tonnes of aquaculture products by 2020,” said Ismail at the opening of the Integrated Cage Farming and MyGAP seminar at a leading hotel here yesterday.
His text of speech was read by the department’s deputy director-general Zulkafli Abdul Rashid.
In 2014, Ismail said the nation managed to produce a total of 56,531 million metric tonnes of fish through the integrated caged farming projects that contributed to 10.6 per cent of the nation’s production from aquaculture projects.
He hoped that the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) – Entry Point Project (EPP) 4 for integrated caged farming projects would increase in production due to the participation of Sarawakian companies under the NKEA Aquaculture projects which was launched in 2011.
“With their (companies) participation, it is hoped that their production will be able to lift Sarawak to the top in our nation’s fish production,” he added.
The seminar also highlighted the importance for aquaculture players to obtain the Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices (MyGAP) certificate to ensure smooth implementation and planning of their projects.
The MyGAP certification is a criterion compliance of responsible, safe and environmental-friendly practices which are emphasised by global market players.
Meanwhile, under the NKEA EPP 4, a total of 28 companies throughout Malaysia have been approved by the department with a total commitment investment of RM2.46 billion.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, who was also present at the function yesterday, hailed the seminar as a catalyst for the state’s integrated caged farming production.
“The state government is also looking seriously into aquaculture projects as its water from Tanjung Datu to Lawas are thriving with marine resources,” said Jabu, who is also Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture.
Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Research and Marketing) Datuk Mong Dagang, Sarawak Marine Fisheries Department director Belayong Nyuak and Sarawak Agriculture Department director Datu Lai Kui Fong were also present at the launch.