The Malaysian government is investing in a plan to increase the country's seafood output from 320,000 metric tons annually to 650,000 metric tons by 2013.
The initial stages of the plan include constructing a national hatchery in Rompin, Pahang province. The contract for the technical aspects of the hatchery was awarded to AKVA, a Norwegian marine technology company. The hatchery will use UII recirculation systems, as well as additional AKVA equipment.
The hatchery is designed to annually produce five million fry of tiger grouper and Asian sea bass. The fry will be distributed to fish farms throughout Pahang province.
The Malaysia government anticipates that the hatchery will be the first step in creating a larger seafood export market.
"We are, of course, very honored to be awarded this first contract in Malaysia," said Trond Severison, chief marketing officer of AKVA. "As a result of this achievement we will now also formalize our presence in Malaysia, and we are looking forward to the finalization and delivery of this project and potentially several more projects in the future."
April 19, 2009
