Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning

(After a refreshing journey over land and sea,) I am happy to be here today to join you all in commemorating the official opening of the Marine Aquaculture Centre.

Singapore draws its supply of fish mainly from seas and rivers in the region. However, fish stocks are being depleted through over-fishing and environmental pollution. Fish catches in this region as well as worldwide are declining. In the long run, we will need to turn to aquaculture for more sustainable food fish supplies.

Intensive aquaculture will benefit us by offering a sustainable food fish supply at affordable prices. There may also be business spin-offs in aquaculture products and services.

Singapore can emulate the Norwegian success. We can harness aquaculture technology for tropical marine fish species. The Marine Aquaculture Centre, or MAC, has been set up (at a cost of $33 million) to develop the advanced know-how. It will also promote the adoption of large-scale aquaculture in Singapore and the region. Marine aquaculture in the region can be a rich source of fresh, high value tropical food fish.

The vision is for MAC to play a key role in advancing marine aquaculture in Singapore and the region. To this end, MAC will adapt overseas technologies and experiences, as well as develop its own proprietary technology for the production of tropical marine food fish.

In the drive towards these goals, MAC will focus on economically important food fish species and develop know-how in fish reproduction, large-scale hatchery and fish farming technology. In addition, related areas of fish nutrition and health, good aquaculture practices, environment monitoring and seawater re-use will also be in the scope of its programme. Looking ahead, the selective breeding programmes will aim to bring about better quality, disease resistant and faster growing fish. This pioneering work is supported by highly specialized, state-of-the-art facilities.

MAC will also be a training ground for developing aquaculture expertise. It will collaborate with academic and research institutes in upstream agri-biotechnology. It will also serve commercial hatcheries that may develop in the meantime.

Large-scale fish farming in deep and open waters in Europe has proven to be an economically viable and sustainable industry. Success, however, was not achieved overnight. It took the Europeans between 20 to 30 years.

In addition to R&D, MAC can also be a catalyst to spur the setting up and growth of commercial hatcheries to provide steady supplies of quality frys to local and regional fish farmers. This will help relieve the shortage of good quality fry for food fish farming. This is a critical bottleneck that is constraining the expansion of aquaculture in the region. The process will take time and requires commitment and patience. However, it can be expedited by applying the experiences gained from overseas countries.

The infrastructure and programmes are in place. With the vision and commitment put in by AVA and the team here, MAC is poised to spearhead tropical marine aquaculture development in Singapore and the region. The task ahead is both challenging and demanding. I am confident that the AVA and MAC will put in great effort to achieve its vision. I wish you every success.

It now gives me great pleasure to declare the Marine Aquaculture Centre open.