The special strain was developed by the WorldFish organisation and grows 50% to 80% faster, with a high survival rate compared to their wild counterparts, when farmed, says the organisation’s director-general, Gareth Johnstone.
Johnstone said Egypt, a water-scarce country, had become Africa’s largest aquaculture producer with the genetically-improved farmed tilapia or GIFT.
“In many parts of Egypt, GIFT has made farmed fish more affordable than chicken, meaning this nutritious, safe, convenient, and locally-sourced food is within reach of some of the poorest households.
“The fish farmers themselves are making a good living too, by moving large volumes.
“But as any aquaculture scientist knows, there’s a lot more to bumper fish harvests than just good genetics. There are a host of other considerations, such as stocking densities in ponds, feed and feeding regimes, and a whole lot more,” he said at his talk at the World Seafood Congress held here yesterday.
WorldFish, based in Penang, is an international nonprofit research organisation on seafood.
Johnstone said WorldFish researchers had tried, tested and successfully implemented GIFT in Egypt and other countries.
He said GIFT could possibly counter Asia’s obesity problem, which stems from poor lifestyles and diets, by ensuring people ate nutritious food.
“Obesity affects 7% of the Asean population as of 2016 and is indicative of a food system in need of a sustainable transformation. Currently, there are also 60 million or so chronically undernourished people in the Asean countries alone.
“Fish, whether from capture fisheries or aquaculture, can play a big part in ensuring people eat well,” he said.
A challenge in feeding people in Asia and Africa was to ensure that the nutritious fish produced is affordable, accessible, safe and convenient for those on low incomes.
Meanwhile, Johnstone said the aquaculture is big business in many parts of Asia, earning all the 10 Asean countries a combined income of US$23 billion in 2014.
He said aquaculture production in the region will roughly double from the current levels to account for roughly half of fish production by 2050. “But for aquaculture to fulfill its potential, it needs a supportive environment.”
Malaysians are said to be one of the largest consumers of fish in the world, at 57kg per person each year.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has forecast total seafood depletion in the world by 2048. However, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has predicted a 17% increase in fish production by 2025.
The government says Malaysia’s aquaculture industry is profitable, producing 427,022 tonnes of seafood worth RM3.04 billion a year, and standing 15th in the world and sixth in Asean.
The aquaculture industry includes fresh and processed fish (102,596 tonnes of freshwater fish worth RM728 million, and 21,460 tonnes of marine fish and prawns worth RM2.26 million), seaweed products (202,965 tonnes worth RM44.7 million) and ornamental fish (281 million pieces worth RM283 million).