SINGAPORE'S ornamental fish export industry, the largest in the world and worth almost $100 million annually, is in danger of drying up (Jessica Lim, The Straits Times, 03 April 2010 via TheFishSite News Desk).

The leases of 16 major exporters in Jalan Kayu, who export about 80 per cent of exotic species such as goldfish and Asian arowanas from Singapore, will expire at the end of the year.  And there is little chance of a renewal, as the space, which is government land, is slated for new roads and industrial development.

The ornamental fish exporters there, who can set up only in locations approved by the Government, fear that they will have nowhere else to go.  Although two days ago the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) released four sites at Lorong Chencharu in Yishun for tender, fish exporters say it is not enough to keep them afloat.

The four new sites have a total land area of 1.72ha - slightly more than the size of two football fields. That is less than a third of the 6ha total land area of the current sites.  'It is definitely not enough land, how can it be enough? It is enough for only three or four companies at most,' said the chairman of Singapore Aquarium Fish Exporter's Association Fong Ching Loon, who has met the SLA and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) several times over the past year to discuss the matter.

The AVA regulates and licenses all fish exporters here. It also worked with the SLA to identify the new land parcels.  Mr Fong, the owner of major fish exporting company Aqua Fauna Fish Industries, is also worried that two factors will limit space even further: Companies might bid for even more land than they have at the original site, and exporters from out of the area may also vie for spots at the new space.

The SLA said the four newly released sites - which are being offered on 10-year leases with an option to renew for another 10 years - are being made available to 'facilitate the relocation of the fish exporters from Jalan Kayu where their current sites are affected by public infrastructure development works'.

The sites, said an SLA spokesman, form part of a larger plot of land, earmarked for aquarium fish export centre use or other agricultural uses. However, it could not guarantee that the plot of land will be sufficient to house all of the displaced companies.

The invitation to tender will close on April 29.  But the exporters are also worried that time is against them.

Mr Fong, who pointed out that the new parcels of land are little more than empty plots, said it will take at least a year to equip them with the necessary infrastructure like fish tanks and warehouses. He added that the area would then have to be approved by the AVA. The association, made up of 45 members, is in discussions with the SLA to find a solution, such as extending the current lease, as a stop-gap.

Mr Ricky Lim, the owner of Aqua-Nautic Specialist, fears the issue could send his business down the drain.  'Where can we move our equipment? We have many customers who are lined up. If we stop supplying for even a few months, we will lose business to other countries,' said the 50-year-old.

Exporters are also worried that the limited spaces for tender will lead to a bidding war.  'Now it's a competition, we will all fight for the new plots and this will push up prices,' said Atlas Aquarium managing director Lucien Low, who has been in the business for 40 years.

'If the Government really wants to support our industry, they should discuss the new rental with us and make it easier for us to relocate.'  In 2008, the Republic exported $97.2 million worth of ornamental fish - cornering about a fifth of the global market - to more than 85 countries around the world. Other major fish exporting countries include Spain, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, Japan and Thailand.

The AVA said it is in Singapore's best interests to keep the industry afloat.  'We are the ornamental fish capital of the world, it is important for us to develop an edge over similar industries elsewhere,' said Dr Ling Kai Huat, AVA's Ornamental Fish Specialist.

'Our role is to share with the relevant authorities the need for such aquarium fish export centres, we will work closely with the exporters and SLA to facilitate the relocation.'

Govt agencies working closely with fish exporters on relocation (07 April 10)

WE REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Ornamental fish trade in danger of drying up', and yesterday's Forum Online letters by Mr Ed Cheong ('Move ornamental fish industry to Iskandar zone') and Ms Cheryl Chen ('Don't let ornamental fish trade die out').

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) have identified the sites in Lorong Chencharu for sale to facilitate the relocation of the fish exporters from Jalan Kayu.

The sites were identified based on the fish exporters' preference.  Four sites, with a total land area of 1.7ha in Lorong Chencharu, were launched for tender on April 1. The agencies have earmarked another 10 state land parcels with a total land area of 4.5ha in Lorong Chencharu for aquarium fish export centre use or other agricultural uses. Depending on the outcome of this tender exercise, SLA plans to launch the sale of these 10 parcels at the end of next month.

The combined land area of these 14 sites at 6.2ha is more than the 6ha plot which the fish exporters currently occupy in Jalan Kayu. The SLA and AVA will continue to work closely with the fish exporters on their relocation.

An influx to the fishing sector – with funding being covered by scaling down or phasing out the nearly $30 billion worth of subsidies in place currently – is needed to curb the excess capacity of the world’s fishing fleets while supporting workers in alternative livelihoods.

Funding is also vital to reform the management of fisheries through such policies as setting up marine protected areas to allow depleted stocks to recover and to grow, says the Green Economy report, whose preview version was released earlier this week.

“Fisheries around the world are being plundered or exploited at unsustainable rates,” said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “It is a failure of management of what will prove to be monumental proportions unless addressed.”

The choices governments make now and in the coming years regarding the fishing industry will impact more than half a billion people, he pointed out.

The final version of the report – covering 11 sectors, including agriculture, waste and tourism – will be issued later this year.

In a related development, a new UN-backed project will help strengthen Sierra Leone’s fishing sector, which was destroyed by the decade-long, brutal civil war in the West African nation.

Currently, small-scale and subsistence fishing account for 85 per cent of the fish landed in Sierra Leone, and the industry has great potential to generate jobs and enhance food security, according to the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

“At present, there are two main constraints that are preventing the growth of the industrial fishing sector,” said the agency’s Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella.

Firstly, he said, institutions supporting the industry have limited human resource capacity, especially at the middle and junior levels of management, and the second challenge is the lack of local skilled labour, resulting in the reliance on foreign workers.

Under a new scheme financed by Russia, UNIDO will set up a Fishery Training Institute, which seeks to help make the sector more commercial in Sierra Leone.

The agreement to set up the project was signed today in Moscow, with Russia also committing $1.5 million to improve water quality and reduce the negative impacts of industrial activities in the Volga River basin, as part of another UNIDO initiative. TheFishSite News Desk