World Aquaculture Singapore 2026 - Dr Janil Puthucheary

1. Good morning, and a very warm welcome to World Aquaculture Singapore 2026. It is my pleasure to be here with many distinguished researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers who share a deep commitment to the future of aquaculture.

2. This year's theme, "High Yield Production through Nutrition, Health, Genetics and Resources", is both important and timely. Today, the growth of aquaculture must increasingly be driven by improving productivity through better inputs. This would enable us to produce more with less within tighter land, resource, and environmental constraints. High-yield, input-driven productivity is therefore central to building an aquaculture sector that is resilient and ready for the challenges ahead.

Resilience in a Changing Climate

3. Let me begin by setting the broader context.

4. Global food systems are under significant and intensifying pressure from climate change, geopolitics and disease outbreaks.

5. Climate change is already affecting the productive capacity of global food systems. A Cornell-led study found that climate change has cut global farming productivity by 21 per cent.

6. The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that climate-related disasters have resulted in over USD 3.8 trillion worth of losses in crop and livestock production over the past three decades alone.

7. Geopolitical developments further compound climate risks. As of December 2025, 17 countries had implemented 27 export-limiting measures on food commodities, according to a World Bank report. More recently, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 30 per cent of internationally traded fertilisers pass, threatens to cause large declines in crop yields.

8. Disease outbreaks add yet another layer of risk and supply volatility. Global disease-related losses in the aquaculture sector are estimated to exceed USD 6 billion annually, with losses from a large-scale outbreak of White Spot Syndrome Virus in shrimp alone estimated to have previously surpassed USD 3 billion.

9. Singapore is not spared from such pressures. We import more than 90 per cent of our food, which leaves us acutely vulnerable to external shocks and global supply disruptions. That is why we have refreshed our approach to food resilience under the Singapore Food Story 2, built around four pillars: Diversify Imports, Global Partnerships, Stockpile, and Grow Local. Together, these pillars give us the flexibility and options to respond to different types of disruptions, across different food items.

10. As climate impacts intensify, Singapore has also designated 2026 as the Year of Climate Adaptation, a signal that climate adaptation is a national priority. This involves a comprehensive review of adaptation measures across key domains, including heat resilience, coastal and flood resilience, and water and food resilience.

Why Aquaculture Matters

11. Against this backdrop, aquaculture's role in feeding the world has never been more important.

12. Aquaculture is one of the most resource-efficient protein production methods available today, requiring less feed to produce the same amount of protein as other livestock.

13. In 2022, global fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record 223.2 million tonnes, and for the first time in history, aquaculture production surpassed capture fisheries production. Yet, this milestone is tempered by growing vulnerability. According to an article published in Nature Sustainability, more than 90 per cent of global blue food production faces substantial risks from environmental changes.

14. The aquaculture sector is similarly under structural pressure from climate change, resource constraints, feed dependency, disease and biosecurity gaps, and seedstock vulnerability. These effects are felt especially keenly in Asia, where 90 per cent of global aquaculture production takes place.

15. The good news is that advances in aquaculture inputs, selective genetics, nutrition and health formulations, purpose-built systems and technologies offer direct levers to improve productivity while addressing these very challenges.

Inputs Resiliency for Singapore's Aquaculture Sector

16. Singapore is committed to advancing innovation in aquaculture through a science-led, collaborative approach with the industry and research sectors. In doing so, we aim to help our farms become more productive and commercially viable, strengthen agri-input resiliency for local production, and contribute expertise and solutions for the region.

17. Let me share how Singapore is approaching each of the three input pillars to aquaculture: (i) species and genetics; (ii) nutrition and health; and (iii) equipment and systems.

Species and Genetics

18. On species and genetics, Singapore will focus on a few priority species to direct resources towards their development. Our national breeding programme, the National Broodstock Centre and Hatchery Development and Recognition Programme (HDRP), focuses on Asian Seabass, Marine Tilapia, and Red Snapper — species with strong domestic and regional demand.

19. By building robust broodstock and hatchery capabilities in Singapore, our farms can achieve faster growth, higher survival rates, and greater disease tolerance. This would mean their produce can reach market sooner with lower costs and fewer losses. Such capabilities also reduce our dependence on imported eggs and fingerlings, which tend to have less consistent quality and poorer survival rates due to transport stress.

20. We are already seeing results. Our selectively bred Asian Seabass has the genetic potential to grow 30 per cent faster than seabass that have not been selectively bred. Through training and knowledge transfer from the Singapore Food Agency’s Marine Aquaculture Centre, our local hatcheries that are accredited under the HDRP now possess the capabilities to translate these superior genetics into high-quality fingerlings for local farms

21. Complementing these efforts, the AquaPolis Programme seeks to bring together research institutes, Institutes of Higher Learning, farms, and industry players to drive aquaculture R&D. Through collaborations and partnerships, the AquaPolis Programme promotes innovation across genetics, nutrition, and disease management, and accelerates the adoption of new technologies and solutions on farms. Under the first SGD 18.5 million AquaPolis R&D tranche which commenced last November, we expanded the R&D focus areas for Asian seabass to include selective breeding to produce parasite-resistant fingerlings, targeted disease management to improve survival rates, and nutrition strategies to raise the quality of fish fillets and strengthen the competitiveness of our local produce.

22. On this note, I am pleased to announce the award of an additional tranche of SGD 6.3 million R&D funding to AquaPolis to enhance marine tilapia aquaculture in Singapore. This brings the total R&D funding for the AquaPolis Programme to close to SGD 25 million. This new tranche will pioneer the improvement of marine tilapia lines through selective breeding, enabling better growth rates, disease resistance, and saline tolerance.

23. Beyond technical improvements, the project will also aim to develop genetic traceability tools to verify strains sold under The Straits Fish aggregated brand for locally farmed marine tilapia. This will help to distinguish locally farmed marine tilapia in the market, while strengthening quality assurance and consumer confidence in support of local produce.

Nutrition and Health

24. Turning to nutrition and health. Good genetics provide fish with the potential to grow well, but it is good nutrition and health that translate the potential into actual farm performance.

25. Despite our size, Singapore contributes significantly to aquaculture nutrition and health locally and regionally, supporting more reliable and productive farming outcomes through our scientific know-how.

26. In this connection, a cluster of global and regional players have chosen Singapore as a base for aquaculture nutrition and health R&D. Some examples include:

    1. MSD Animal Health, which develops vaccines and preventive healthcare solutions for tropical fish species;

    2. Aboitiz Foods, which specialises in animal feed, including for aquaculture; and

    3. Haid Group, a major integrated feed player, which has opened its first overseas livestock and aquaculture premix manufacturing facility here in Singapore.

27. Singapore will continue to cultivate strong collaborations that can benefit not just the local sector but also serve as an anchor for the region. I am happy to announce that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will sign a collaborative agreement today to establish the Feed and Feed Ingredient Technology Centre, or F2TC. As the founding partner, SFA will provide technical expertise, industry networks, and resources to support F2TC’s development and help anchor a pipeline of industry projects.  SIT complements these efforts by bringing strong capabilities in extrusion process engineering, applied research with industry, and expertise in digitalisation and AI-driven modelling, all of which are highly relevant to advancing feed innovation.

28. The F2TC, which will be sited at SIT, will be a dedicated R&D centre focusing on tropical marine species. It will serve as a one-stop platform to trial, pilot, and commercialise innovations in feed and feed ingredient technology, providing industry-relevant capabilities such as feed formulation, nutrition modelling, pilot-scale feed production, and efficacy trials.

29. By fostering collaboration between local research institutions and industry players, the F2TC will catalyse innovation, strengthen Singapore's technical leadership in feed for warm-water species, and anchor high-value aquafeed activities here. For example, the F2TC will partner Clextral, a global leader in twin screw extrusion technology for feed, on capability building and training, and INVE, a global aquaculture nutrition and health company, on translating R&D outcomes into commercially relevant aquaculture solutions.

Equipment and Systems

30. With strong foundations in genetics, as well as good nutrition to support local production, we turn our attention to the importance of equipment and systems. In Singapore, systems innovation is how we overcome constraints. It enables us to produce more with less space, while managing environmental and disease risks more effectively.

31. SFA will support our farms in adopting newer technologies by assessing and demonstrating their suitability for Singapore's farming conditions before farms invest in them. One example of a demonstration project being explored is the use of automated vaccination machines for priority species such as Asian Seabass, Marine Tilapia and Red Snapper that can enhance the disease resilience of fish while reducing the amount of manual labour required. Once these technologies are proven effective, farms can adopt them with support from SFA’s Agri-food Cluster Transformation Fund 2, which provides co-funding to local farms to adopt technologies to transform their operations.

32. Some farms are already pushing the boundaries through systems innovation, leveraging technology to enable greater operational stability and more consistent output.

    1. Take local farm Singapore Aquaculture Technologies (SAT) as an example. SAT has developed an aquaculture system that uses water treatment technology, artificial intelligence, and data analytics to optimise their operations. They now operate at three times the productivity of conventional sea-based farms and face lower risk from environmental hazards such as algal blooms.

    2. Another local farm, Blue Ocean Aquaculture Technology, has transformed an indoor factory space into a thriving fish farm using nanobubble technology, allowing fish to grow in an oxygen-rich, bacteria-free environment.

33. While these innovations are shaped by Singapore's unique constraints, their relevance extends well beyond our shores. As climate change intensifies, solutions that enable better environmental control and more efficient resource use will help aquaculture across the region remain productive and resilient.

Conclusion

34. Ensuring food resilience is an ongoing effort, and no strategy can eliminate all disruptions. But innovation, collaboration, and preparedness remain our most powerful tools.

35. Singapore will continue to invest in R&D and partnerships with industry stakeholders to create a vibrant aquaculture ecosystem. With climate adaptation as a national priority, our work on aquaculture inputs reflects this commitment, building the productive resilience that climate-proofed food systems will require.

36. I hope this conference will be a space for open conversations and knowledge exchange. The challenges we face are shared, and so too must be our solutions.

37. I wish all of you fruitful and meaningful discussions ahead.

38. Thank you.