First Local Rainbow Trout Farm Trial: Could Hit Market by Year-End
Singapore's first rainbow trout farm has started trial operations, with locally farmed rainbow trout expected to be on dining tables as early as year-end.
Local aquaculture operator Blue Aqua held a launch ceremony at its rainbow trout farm at Liang Zhuo Feng Shou Lane in Lim Chu Kang, announcing a phased expansion of capacity. The farm's initial annual output is expected to reach 1,200 tonnes, potentially increasing to 3,000 tonnes in the future.
The 1.6-hectare land-based farm cost about $45 million. Since rainbow trout are cold-water fish with strict requirements for water temperature, quality and growing environment, the operator uses an advanced Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), employing fully enclosed environmental control technology to precisely regulate temperature, water quality and biosecurity conditions in Singapore's tropical climate.
According to onsite observations, the farm's infrastructure is largely completed, but the cultivation tanks have not yet been filled with water. Blue Aqua's founder revealed that the company has prepared fish eggs, and it will take about 8 to 10 months to raise them into adult fish weighing about 500 grams.
The company hopes to start producing rainbow trout by the end of this year to test market response; the first batch of locally produced rainbow trout is expected to weigh between 350 and 400 grams. Regarding the initial output, the company said it is still difficult to predict accurately, requiring significant debugging and optimization, and the results could be much higher or lower than expected—a process of constant calibration and improvement.
Founded in 2009, Blue Aqua also operates a shrimp farm in the same area, with an annual output of about 120 tonnes. The founder noted that rainbow trout and shrimp are different species, each with distinct farming challenges and advantages. Although the upfront capital investment for rainbow trout farming is higher, the highly automated system combined with AI management technology makes overall operations easier to manage precisely.
The company plans to gradually increase annual output in the future, emphasizing that this is not an average automated farm but a fully controlled farming system with precise data, as planning is based on actual production capacity calculations and design.
According to data released by the Singapore Food Agency in May, local farms produced 3,800 tonnes of seafood last year, an increase of 8.6% from 3,500 tonnes the previous year, but only accounting for about 2.7% of the national seafood supply; seafood imports increased from 124,600 tonnes to 138,000 tonnes, highlighting the country's high dependence on food imports.
Number of Local Farms Declining for Five Consecutive Years
Overall, the operating environment for local farms remains difficult, with the number of farms declining for five consecutive years. Official data shows that the number of sea-based farms has been shrinking since 2022, from 109 to 67 last year; land-based farms have remained relatively stable, with 34 as of 2024.
Blue Ocean Aquaculture Technology also operates a land-based indoor farm. Its managing director once said that indoor farm operating costs are relatively high, and if they cannot achieve break-even in the long term, they will eventually be eliminated by the market.
The company also mentioned that it has experienced failures and learned lessons, and will draw on that experience to avoid repeating mistakes. The company said it has calculated cost-effectiveness in detail and is confident that the price of local rainbow trout will be lower than imported rainbow trout, enhancing market competitiveness.
