International Expert Workshop Co-organised by Temasek Polytechnic aims to enhance food security through Sustainable Mud Crab Aquaculture
Post Date: 27 Dec 2023
The Aquaculture Innovation Centre (AIC), headquartered in Temasek Polytechnic (TP) is set to enhance food security and resilience. This is aligned to national efforts to transform Singapore's agri-food industry and securing its food future. With the rapidly developing aquaculture industry’s aim to meet the nation’s nutritional needs by 2030, AIC has been actively championing intensive aquaculture production with innovation and technology.
TP co-organised an international workshop with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from 27 – 30 November 2023 to further strengthen the aquafarming industry. Titled ‘Meeting Global Mud Crab Demand through Innovation and Best Practices, the workshop brought together and upskilled industry practitioners to evaluate the technological innovations and industry development needs of mud crab aquaculture in the Asia Pacific region.
The objective of the milestone event aims to achieve a twofold goal, namely, the expansion and long-term sustainability of the mud crab farming industry, all while safeguarding and maintaining a healthy balance in the marine ecosystem, and the enhancement of collaborations between private and public stakeholders in the region.
Experts such Colin Shelly, Khor Wai Ho, Emilia Quinitio, Kandan Shanmugam, Yu Ngoc Ut and Andrew Ng from different regions congregated to share industry status reports on the international mud crab industry and topics such as farming systems and future needs.
Workshop participants also got the opportunity to visit AIC R&D Farm where the mud crab hatchery is, followed by a tour of 2 key AIC facilities, Aquaculture Health Hub and Animal Research Facility in TP. The workshop is part of AIC's aim to be an industry-relevant and forward-looking research and innovation hub that champions new ideas and process through the involvement with other mud crab experts.
Currently, mud crabs are sourced from the wild and a few thousand tonnes are supplied locally for consumption. AIC’s mission is aligned with the nation’s objective for local farms to enhance agri-food production to meet at least 30% of the total food needs by 2030. As one of Singapore’s 12 Centres of Innovation (COI), AIC is the only COI to have initiated applied mud crab research and technology development in 2020 for sustainable supply in the local market.
The crab hatchery at AIC’s Research and Development farm aims to boost the supply and quality of locally reared mud crabs, protect them from diseases and address other issues faced by the sector. Additionally, technologies developed by the Centre would be licensed out to interested farms willing to take on commercial mud crab farming such as hatchery, soft shell crab and hard-shell crab fattening.
