Kedah to Boost Fish Exports Via Genetics Project

MALAYSIA is developing a bigger, better and tastier tilapia through a genetics enhancement project that the government hopes will make the country a major fish exporter by 2010.

In the past year, scientists at a small farm in Malaysia's rice-growing heartland state of Kedah have been working on a project to enhance the traits of the common tilapia that is likely to be used for commercial fish farming.

Geneticist Raul Ponzoni told The Straits Times: 'We statistically adjust the differences of the fish by sex, age and even the performance of its relatives. Then we match the best fish together for mating, like matchmaking.'

Dr Ponzoni is from the World Fish Centre, an international non-profit organisation that is undertaking the joint-venture project with the Kuala Lumpur government.

The tilapia, commonly served at many Malaysian seafood restaurants, has been identified as a priority species to boost fish production in the country.

By 2010, Malaysia hopes to produce 1.7 million tonnes of fish, of which tilapia is targeted to account for 120,000 tonnes. In 2001, the country produced less than 800,000 tonnes of fish at its various commercial farms.

Fisheries Department director Datuk Hashim Ahmad said Malaysia produced less than 20,000 tonnes of tilapia in 2000.

He said the project with the World Fish Centre would help the country penetrate the lucrative fish export market.

'China and Taiwan are already major exporters of tilapia and many other countries are following suit,' he noted.

The World Fish Centre had previously undertaken a similar genetic enhancement project in the Philippines, in which the tilapia produced was 85 per cent bigger.

But Dr Ponzoni said genetic enhancement is tedious and results will be seen only after five years.

At the Kedah farm, all the fish spawned are tagged and numbered. They are measured individually, their growth rates are recorded and the size of their 'relatives' is taken into account by scientists who calculate statistically the best of each generation of fish.

The biggest, the fastest-growing and the best fish are selected and paired for mating to produce another generation of fish, and the process is repeated.

'We only pick the best, provided at least 30 to 35 different 'families' are represented to prevent inbreeding,' said Dr Ponzoni.

The process becomes quite technical, he said, because of Malaysia's intention to produce the fish for export.

Fillet yield and quality of the flesh are major factors in exporting fish, he said, pointing out that the scientists might then not breed the tilapia for size but instead concentrate on a tastier fish.

The government says it hopes to develop more designated aquaculture farming areas for tilapia and other fish.

According to official statistics, there are more than 15,000 breeders operating nearly 50,000 aquaculture ponds in the country.

But officials here say they want better-quality fish to be exported to places like Singapore, Japan and Hongkong.