Blue Aqua, a leader in shrimp aquaculture technology, is now looking to develop Singapore’s first high-tech fish farm for producing Trout – this is in part of the group’s intention to invest SGD $45 million to grow its aquaculture operations in Singapore. With plans for an annual production capacity of 1200 tonnes of rainbow trout – a cold water species native to the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America, it plans to cater to the local demand for a sustainable fish of the highest quality. The project will showcase a proprietary ModulRAS system developed by Assentoft Aqua, Denmark, which specialises in sustainable land-based RAS aquaculture technologies.

Singapore has set its sights on a ‘30 by 30’ masterplan to meet 30% of its local food production by 2030. The intended project will incorporate super-intensive technology coupled with AI to help achieve sustainable fish production locally to support Singapore’s food security initiatives, by making available fresh daily harvest of its premium quality rainbow trout.

With Singapore’s ‘Green Plan 2030’ encouraging a vibrant sustainability ecosystem, the project will also look into developing green technology for energy and carbon efficient urban farming through partnerships with clean energy technology firms. The developed sustainable trout farming system will be eventually deployed across South East Asia, Middle East and North Africa.

“Our heartiest congratulations to Dr Farshad and the team at Blue Aqua for their visionary move into super intensive urban farming. Assentoft Aqua understands that Blue Aqua has undertaken a very rigorous due diligence and technology validation process where leading RAS technologies from across the world were evaluated. Today’s announcement is a further attestation of Assentoft’s technology and its mark of quality for urban farms of the future”, said A/Prof Matthew Tan, CEO Asia, Assentoft Aqua Asia Pte. Ltd.

Dr Farshad Shishehchian, CEO & Founder of Blue Aqua International Group said: “The future lies in sustainable, smart farming systems that are not bound by environmental constraints. Blue Aqua has been a strong advocate for super-intensive, species-focused farming since its inception, and we are excited to grow our efforts to develop a scalable aquaculture technology, with farmed trout and shrimp, to serve as an important and efficient protein food source for decades to come.”

Advised by Lighthouse Finance, an Oslo based advisory firm specialised in financing sustainable seafood projects around the globe – the farming project is in the midst of raising funds for a phase-based commercial development over the next 3 years.

“At Lighthouse Finance we consistently keep exploring for aquaculture projects with a right balance, to assist them in their growth phases and Blue Aqua’s plans tick most of the boxes for us to come in and partner with. Along with possessing the technological depth, experience in the value-chain and goodwill, Blue Aqua’s vision to be a solution provider anticipating future challenges should catapult it to be a formidable high-growth enterprise across species. Supporting an environmentally sustainable aquaculture project and guiding it to become a circular economy operation is close to our mission’s heart and hence our resolve to partner with Blue Aqua for their next growth cycle”, said Roy Høiås, CEO & Founder of Lighthouse Finance AS, Norway.