Debated in Parliament on 13 Apr 2015.
Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether AVA's real-time monitoring and early warning systems are effective in alerting fish farmers ahead of time of the occurrence of harmful algal blooms to prevent massive fish kills; (b) whether there is a need to relocate fish farms away from areas prone to algal blooms; and (c) whether persistent algal blooms have made it difficult for Singapore to achieve its target of 15% of fish supply to be from local sources.
The Minister of State for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) (for the Minister for National Development): Madam, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) monitors a few indicators of water quality, such as plankton count and dissolved oxygen, at our coastal fish farming areas. This allows AVA to give farmers early warning when adverse conditions are detected, so that they can take the necessary precautionary measures.
AVA was able to alert the fish farmers of the impending plankton bloom well ahead of time. For example, in the recent incident, AVA first alerted fish farmers to adverse weather conditions on 30 January and advised them to monitor their fish stocks. On 16 and 17 February, as soon as AVA detected elevated plankton levels at the East Johor Straits (EJS), they alerted the fish farmers and advised them to deploy canvas bags or transfer their fish stock to unaffected areas. Those who heeded AVA's advice averted the worst of the fish kills.
We are studying the causes of plankton blooms in the Johor Straits more comprehensively, to give us a better sense of whether the plankton blooms are simply ad-hoc events or regular occurrences. It is premature to determine whether there is a need for fish farmers to relocate away from the Johor Straits and whether plankton blooms will
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significantly hinder us from reaching our 15% local fish production target.
In the meantime, farmers should take steps to minimise the impact should another plankton bloom occur. AVA will help farmers to develop contingency plans. Fish farmers must also modernise their farming methods so that they are better protected. They can tap on AVA's Agriculture Productivity Fund to enhance their resilience. By working hand in hand, we will be able to minimise the impact of plankton blooms.
I thank the Minister of State for the reply. In view of the frequent occurrences of algal blooms in the past and it has become almost an annual affair, are there studies to also see if it is perhaps due to the reclamation works or other projects affecting the environment either by Singapore or by our immediate neighbours? And could the Johor Straits be not so conducive because algal blooms tend to happen in those areas and, perhaps, the flow of the water may not be so good? Also, on the target to achieve the 15%, we are still quite a distance from this. So, are we confident we can achieve this target and by when?
I thank the Member for the supplementary question. It is really not clear whether the on-going reclamation works in Malaysia have an impact on the fish death. But what we are doing now is, following last year's plankton bloom episode, AVA has been working with the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) of NUS on a research project to conduct studies on plankton blooms to enable development of effective mitigating solutions. Studies are ongoing and expected to conclude by 2017.
In addition, AVA had also called for proposals for the design and development of closed containment aquaculture system for coastal fish farming last year. AVA recently awarded the tender to five companies to develop a more sustainable sea-based farming system under the co-innovation partnership programme. The companies will be working on systems that offer a sustainable option for coastal fish farms to minimise exposure to environmental changes such as the plankton bloom.
On the question of how far we are from the 15% mark, we are working with all the fish farmers. We encourage them to modernise and look at various options, including the closed containment system and looking at the possibility of high-rise fish farming methodologies. We have been going to various countries to study various options available, with farmers coming along to look at the various options. We are working very hard to meet those targets.
As far as dealing with the current plankton bloom situation is concerned – we have had two, last year and this year – we continue to monitor the situation with the studies being done with TMSI and we hope to be able to help our farmers mitigate. In a recent incident,
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for example, farmers who adhered to the early warning signs were able to minimise the fish kills by introducing the canvas bags which actually managed to save much of their fish stocks.
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