Channel NewsAsia 21 Jan 14;
Six offshore fish farms in Singapore had their licences discontinued as their annual production fell short of the target set by authorities. Even though all the farms appealed with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, only one succeeded in keeping its licence.
Transcript from the video:
Six offshore fish farms in Singapore had their licences discontinued as their annual production fell short of the target set by authorities. Even though all the farms appealed with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, only one succeeded in keeping its licence.
The owner of this farm managed to keep his licence until July. He said he invested about $200,000 in his farm. But the other farms were demolished today.
Since the 1980's AVA has required all fish farms to meet the minimum production target of 17 tonnes of fish annually. But this fish farm has only produced about 1.1 tonne of fish annually since 2008. Its owner had lodged a police report. He was upset that authorities had come to his farm to spray paint on this property to ensure that it is disposed properly.
"Is very stressful lah. Firstly, you lost everything. Nothing is you going to have anything back. You invested everything, you don't get anything back. For us small farmer, of course I am very sad about it," said Sheik Zaini, Affected Fish Farmer.
"This farm is start since 1980. From a fisherman village we have developed to a world-class country, but it's not like a machine, you put in ingredients, tomorrow you have fish. You need patience, you need a lot of love, you need a lot of sweat and blood." said Philip Lim, Chairman, Singapore Marine Aquaculture Cooperative.
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