Singapore-based aquaculture service provider Blue Aqua International has launched the Doctor Shrimp Academy and Clinic to support the shrimp industry globally, the company said in a statement on 13 April.
Blue Aqua has expertise in super-intensive shrimp farming, providing customers with solutions for the health optimization and animal nutrition. It currently serves more than 4,000 customers globally.
Doctor Shrimp will work as a “center of excellence,” providing the industry with a technical and tools resource platform for shrimp farming, education and practical aquaculture skills training, and shrimp disease diagnostic services.
The platform will focus on five main cultured species of shrimp: Litopenaeus vannamei, Penaeus monodon, Marsupenaeus japonicus, Penaeus indicus, and Litopenaeus stylirostris.
In partnership with Temasek Polytechnic, the academy will offer accepted students a series of specialized courses with hands-on practical training at Blue Aqua’s commercial shrimp farm in Singapore.
According to Blue Aqua Vice President of Marketing Nathalie Lim, the launch of the initiative is part of the company’s efforts to support Singapore’s national strategy to maximize its own seafood production. Currently, the city-state imports more than 90 percent of its food demand.
“Singapore’s 30x30 initiative aims for the city-state to produce 30 percent of its nutritional needs domestically by 2030, but there is a skills and education gap in farming, which is why we’ve launched an academy to address this,” Lim said in an email statement.
Students at the academy will have the opportunity to learn from case studies presented by international and domestic aquaculture experts during the training courses.
“The academy is a great combination of knowledge packed learning and rich experience acquisition bundled into one,” Non-Resident Ambassador to Oman Teng Theng Dar, who is an advisor for Blue Aqua, said in the statement. “By producing graduates over time, the academy aims to promote science based and sustainable shrimp farming globally.”
In addition, the Doctor Shrimp Clinic and Laboratory in Singapore will provide shrimp farmers with disease diagnostic tests, as well as prevention and treatment services to support their farming operations. The clinic will also provide services to farmers across Southeast Asia.
“The success of this program will certainly put Singapore on the map of global aquaculture and position Singapore as a thought-leader in this field,” Innovation Partner for Impact CEO Wong Lup Lai, who attended the launch, said.
Photo courtesy of Blue Aqua
