Fish Farm With Norwegian Technology Set Up In Malaysia

Majuikan
Sdn Bhd, which is wholly owned by Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM), has
established a RM10mil eco-friendly farm to produce fish fry. The project is 100%
Malaysian-owned but operated on Norwegian technology.
    The
Norwegian experts would design, test and run the farm for a certain period as a
part of the technology-transfer process.
    Established
under the East Coast Economic Region’s fish-farming initiative, the 8ha farm, a
joint venture between Majuikan and Mytrans Holding Sdn Bhd, will be known as
MyIkan.
    MyIkan is
expected to produce up to 500 tonnes of fish a year.
    Utilising
technology from Norway,
MyIkan is an eco-friendly, closed-water recirculating fish farm using latest
aquaculture technology.
    LKIM
director-general Datuk Mustafa Ahmad said the farm would be fully operational
by yearend with the first harvest expected in June next year.
    “The farm
is being developed in two stages. The present phase is on fish production while
the second phase will see the development of a hatchery and a post-harvest
processing centre.
    “The
construction of a grow-out farm is expected to be completed in August,” he
said.
    Mustafa
said the farm would have selected marine species such grouper, which was sold
locally and abroad.
    “There is
growing demand in the aquaculture sector. MyIkan has contacts in the fish
supply chain and buyers from Singapore,
Hong Kong, South
Korea and China,”
he said.
    Malaysia’s per capita consumption of fish is
49kg, among the highest in the world.

 

It is
estimated that national demand for fish would expand to 1.5 million tonnes by
2010, with per capita consumption reaching 56kg.