Singapore's First Rainbow Trout Farm Trial Operation: RAS Helps Serve at Table by Year-End
Singapore's first rainbow trout farm has started trial operation, and locally farmed rainbow trout may be at the table as early as the end of this year.
Local aquaculture operator Blue Aqua held a launch ceremony for the rainbow trout farm at Neo Tiew Harvest Lane on Thursday (June 4), announcing a phased capacity expansion. The farm's initial annual production is expected to reach 1,200 metric tons, potentially increasing to 3,000 metric tons in the future.
The 1.6-hectare land-based farm cost about S$45 million. Since rainbow trout are cold-water fish with strict requirements on water temperature, quality, and environment, the operator uses advanced recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology, employing fully enclosed environmental control to precisely regulate temperature, water quality, and biosecurity conditions in Singapore's tropical climate.
According to the journalist's observation that day, the farm's infrastructure was largely completed, but the rearing tanks had not yet been filled with water. Blue Aqua founder Farshad Shishehchian revealed that the company has fish eggs ready, which will take about 8 to 10 months to cultivate into adult fish weighing about 500 grams.
Farshad said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao that the company hopes to start producing rainbow trout by the end of this year to test market response. It is expected that the first batch of domestically produced rainbow trout will weigh between 350 and 400 grams each.
As for the first batch output, Farshad admitted it is still difficult to predict accurately. "We need extensive debugging and optimization. Results could be much higher than expected or lower; it is essentially a process of constant calibration and improvement."
Founded in 2009, Blue Aqua currently operates a shrimp farm in the same area with an annual output of about 120 metric tons. Farshad pointed out that rainbow trout and shrimp are different species, each with different farming challenges and advantages. Although the initial capital investment for rainbow trout farming is higher, the system is highly automated and integrated with AI management technology, making overall operations easier to manage precisely.
Regarding the future increase in annual production at the rainbow trout farm, Farshad emphasized that this is not an ordinary automated farm but a fully controlled farming system. "Our data is very precise because all planning is calculated and designed based on actual production capacity."
According to data released by the Singapore Food Agency in May this year, local farms produced a total of 3,800 metric tons of seafood last year, an increase of 8.6% from 3,500 metric tons the previous year, but only accounted for about 2.7% of the national seafood supply. Seafood imports increased from 124,600 metric tons to 138,000 metric tons, highlighting the country's heavy reliance on imports.
Number of Local Farms Declining for Five Consecutive Years
Overall, the operating environment for local farms continues to be difficult, with the number of farms declining for five consecutive years. Official data shows that the number of sea-based farms has been shrinking since 2022, from 109 to 67 last year; land-based farms have been relatively stable, with 34 as of 2024.
Blue Ocean Aquaculture Technology, which also operates a land-based indoor farm, managing director Huang Yisheng previously told Lianhe Zaobao that indoor farm operating costs are inherently high, and if they cannot achieve a break-even point in the long term, they will eventually be eliminated by the market.
Farshad admitted that the company has experienced many failures and lessons, so it will learn from experience and avoid repeating mistakes. "We don't want to see another failure case." He said the company has calculated cost benefits in detail and is confident that the local rainbow trout price can be lower than imported rainbow trout, improving market competitiveness.
