The SOI will look at Asia’s fish farming through different vantage points. In the global white fish market, tilapia and pangasius are at the medium and lower end of the white fish ladder, respectively. We look at demand, supply, and competition, for Asian tilapia in the US market. Vietnam has built a successful pangasius business but it requires direction as it reaches saturation. In Thailand, it is expanding tilapia production, from genetics, hatchery and farming. Steering an industry into focus requires SWOT analyses of species and choice of marine fish species for the export mass market.

It starts with developing the right genetics and production technology for larval and nursery rearing. High performance larval feeds, efficient  feed management and good hatchery practices are required to optimize growth and survival. Weaning remains a challenge for marine fish.

Formulating for precision nutrition feeds needs information on standardized assessment processes. It is a focus on nutrients and assessing alternative ingredients, marine and plants meals for sustainable feeds. Reducing cost/kg fish produced requires nutritional modulation for better feed efficiency and for health intervention to increase survival rates. How can we develop species-specific feeds for improved efficiency and at all life cycle stages?

While there have been active investments in Europe and for salmon, Asia’s fish industry does not seem attractive for investments. Are we not telling our story? There is substantial funding for startups for alternative feed ingredients, AI and disease mitigation but no one focuses on core farming. Is this too risky, is the investment amount too high or not sexy enough? How do we package our industry for investment?

Industry’s growth and productivity are constantly constrained by current bacterial and viral diseases, as well as parasites. Additionally, we face emerging pathogens. How can we boost immunity and integrate proper mitigation and vaccination into the system? In marine fish farming, what R&D efforts are lacking in Asia compared to that in Europe? Moving forward, how can we predict trigger points and foster innovations in disease mitigation for industry adoption?