(The Star).- MALAYSIA is one of the highest consumers of fish and seafood in the world. Malaysians consume just under 60kg of fish per capita annually. Despite the high consumption, the supply of this food group appears to be assured for the moment.

Currently, marine fish landings for Malaysia amount to 1.42mil metric tonnes, with another 220,952 tonnes coming from aquaculture, and the rest from imports.

According to Dr S. Subasinghe, director of Infofish, an inter-governmental organisation for marketing information and technical advisory services for fishery products in Asia and the Pacific region, “Being self-sufficient is the old-fashioned way of looking at it.”

“It is a different approach in the fish trade. Fish security is there. We are looking at the economics and the trading aspects. As long as we make money out of the fish business we are fine,” he asserts.

Data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia show that in 2006, Malaysia imported a total of 395,458 metric tonnes of fish and seafood, and exported 258,500 tonnes. However, total exports were worth US$623mil (RM2bil) compared to imports of US$553mil (RM1.77bil), which translates to a gain of US$70mil (RM225mil).

He comments, “The industry here is very good in product and market diversification. We import in value and sell, so what we spend on imports is offset by exports.”

Subasinghe explains that marine fish landings worldwide have plateaued, and any increase in supply has to come from freshwater sources.

“Global marine fish production has been stagnating at around 95 million tonnes for the past five to six years, and any growth has to come from aquaculture – but there are problems.”

According to Tarlochan Singh, Infofish technical advisory services chief, “Aquaculture will bridge the gap between supply and demand. But for aquaculture you need input. Feed and impoundments for fish – some of these have to be manufactured and there is a cost involved.

“You need fish meal or soy and a whole lot of other ingredients for feed – and these are going up,”

The industry is looking at alternatives, but it will take a long time to find results.

Explains Tarlochan, “One is plant or even insect protein. The question is if you can breed them in large enough numbers, and this is being looked at at the moment.”

While aquaculture places emphasis on fish breeds that have a high market value, it is possible that systems can produce affordable fish.

He says, “There are aquaculture systems that are being implemented that do not need too much input. The natural productivity of the water body is promoted, so there is natural live food that the fish can feed on.

Fish like sepat siam, catfish and even tilapia are being cultured, and these can be consumed by the lower income segments of society.”

Fatima Ferdouse, Infofish trade promotion department chief, says that it is inevitable that prices of fish will increase.
“This is a global phenomenon, but nobody knows how much prices are going up.”

She states that the government's policy is to have more locally-produced fish, which has to come from aquaculture and they have a plan to have the capability to produce 600,000 metric tonnes by the year 2010.

“The problem is that currently, imports are cheaper and the aquaculture industry will not develop overnight. It takes time.”

Source: http://thestar.com.my