Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Sea-based Fish Farms

Question:

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) regarding the closure of 24.5% of sea-based fish farms in 2024, how many of these farms have received Government grants prior to their closure; (b) what is the aggregate value of the grants received by them; and (b) what are the ongoing efforts to reduce the closures of open net cage fish farms.

Answer:

1 Of the 26 sea-based fish farms that exited the industry in 2024, six farms had received close to $700,000 in total of grants to help them enhance their productivity. All of them had met their grant conditions.

2 The Singapore Food Agency has been partnering farms to enhance their commercial viability through capability and capacity building initiatives. This includes helping farms to strengthen their biosecurity to prevent and control diseases through the Aquatic Animal Health Services and supporting farms in upgrading capabilities and adopting technology through the Agri-Food Cluster Transformation Fund. Given our limited land, resources, and climate change, farms need to be highly productive, climate-resilient and resource-efficient to be commercially viable.

3 While the number of sea-based farms has decreased, overall productivity of the sector has increased from 38.6 tonnes per hectare per year in 2023 to 40.7 tonnes per hectare per year in 2024.