Interview with Alex Chiam, General Manager, Barramundi Group

11 Dec Interview with Alex Chiam, General Manager, Barramundi Group

What major milestones has Barramundi Group passed since its establishment?

Barramundi Group is headquartered in Singapore. We began operations and the first phase of our development as a developer and operator of a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) nursery. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdown created a bit of a logistical nightmare. However, we pulled through. We successfully engaged with our international contractors and designers to commission the RAS on time by April 2021. The system was built by a Danish aquaculture company that designed and built almost 60% of the global RAS systems for the salmon industry. It is one of very few units built for tropical marine species, which is an exceptional achievement. In the aquaculture industry, there are several stages in Barramundi species, starting from the larvae to fry, fingerlings, juveniles and full-grown fish. The fry or fingerlings from 0.3 grams up to 60 grams are grown in the RAS until they are ready to go out to the open sea. They are then grown in cages from 60 grams to 3.5 kilos and above.

What next stage of development is the company readying for as we enter 2025?

We attained $15 million in funding from a local financial institution in Brunei to move into the BG 1.5 phase. This funding has allowed us to move on from experimental trial productions with the RAS and open sea cages for three years. It is important to note that the lifecycle of a barramundi takes more than two years. We have taken all data from the first batches of production and are confident of moving into the next stage where we do not entirely rely on importing barramundi fry. We have begun collecting broodstocks, which are quite resilient and have demonstrated superior growth performance in Brunei waters. Water chemistry and water quality are key factors in our production system. We have tried different batches of different genetic origins of barramundi across the region and have identified a few that are genetically superior. We aim to selectively breed this fish for the future parent of the fry and fingerlings for our future production. This is a critical lynchpin in our broodstock and hatchery program that is part of our BG 1.5 program.

What is Barramundi Group doing to balance productivity with sustainability and environmental conservation?

Barramundi Group has and always will be committed to producing fish ethically and sustainably. This is demonstrated by our history of creating an integrated aquaculture farm-to-fork model with an in-house broodstock program in Singapore that produces sustainably cultured fry, fingerlings, juveniles and harvest fish for Brunei. One of the most important things for any global aquaculture company is to identify the right site; it is critical we do not affect the existing ecosystem. Proper planning includes environmental impact assessments, which are done several months before and during operations. Suitable sites for aquaculture that do not affect the existing marine ecosystem and our natural biodiversity are chosen by the government. We are a BAP-certified company, which stands for best aquaculture practices. This certification is required by several countries — especially in the EU and the United States — before the fish are allowed to be exported to these markets. The BAP certification demonstrates our commitment to sustainability. All stages of our barramundi production are traceable from the broodstocks and feed production. We are transparent with the ingredients used in our feed, which is mostly plant-meal-based feed. From a feeding and animal welfare standpoint related to the stocking density of cages and tanks, all are specially curated following the best aquaculture practices internationally. Our process is inspected annually by independent auditors appointed by the certification body.

What major export markets is Barramundi Group looking to supply?

Our fish are harvested at three stages: 1.5 kilos, 2.5 kilos and 3.5 kilos and above. In certain markets such as Hong Kong or the local ASEAN region, 1.2 to 1.5 kilos is quite popular. Singapore is our current export market, a small country with a huge appetite for seafood. We export much of the 3.5 kilos and above category to Singapore where they perform value-added processing, such as cleaning, filleting and portioning the fish. Downstream activities are done in both Singapore and Brunei. We supply the most renowned global brand hotels committed to sustainability. We currently only export to Singapore. However, the group is looking to resume its exports to the United States and enter new markets as we scale production in the coming years.

What factors make Brunei an excellent destination to develop a regional aquaculture hub?

Ecosystems are crucial for any aquaculture activities. Brunei has tremendous offshore sites and underutilized sea leases that are virgin and pristine, such as those in the local rainforest that have minimal marine traffic. Viral pathogens and bacterial populations in the waters of Brunei are relatively very low and manageable through our in-house fish health company UVAXX. In the past three years, our team has gone to various points within rivers and the sea to collect water samples and correlate data regarding fish health and growth performance at our site and community farms. Through these samples and bacterial and viral pathogen seeds, the company collaborates with research institutions to maintain our fish health.

How supportive have local institutions been in setting up Barramundi Group’s platform in Brunei?

Based on our experience, Brunei has proven to be the easiest location to set up and grow a company. It is an ideal site for fish to grow optimally and organically. Apart from investments and support from the government of Brunei and local financial institutions, we are seeing strong support from the Brunei Economic Development Board. They have assisted in identifying appropriate sites and setting up our farm. We have also enjoyed strong support in research and development through collaborations with institutions in Brunei and Singapore. The strong bilateral relationship between Singapore and Brunei provides a stable and collaborative platform for the company and its partners to cooperate. Our research and development activities for broodstocks and vaccine development are an excellent example of bilateral collaboration. We are currently moving into genetically identifying selected broodstocks kept in Brunei. Additionally, investments in new technologies and collaborations with local university institutions are in the pipeline to develop barramundi-specific fish health monitoring using underwater cameras powered by artificial intelligence. The technology can also be used to populate and grade fish. Data relating to water chemistry, fish behavior and growth are being recorded and fed into our artificial intelligence aquaculture software previously developed for the salmon industry.

What strategies are being employed to ensure workforce development and community engagement?

During the company’s establishment in Brunei at the end of 2020, we collaborated with the local Department of Fisheries to identify attachment or internship students from local technical colleges and universities. We identified people, recruited them and posted them at our farm in Singapore. They were trained in animal husbandry practices before being brought back to Brunei to set up the farm with our foreign counterparts. To maintain the program, we host students from the technical college in the final six months of their diploma or degree. At the end of these six months and upon graduation, most are offered a permanent job at our company.

We also work with traditional and young entrepreneurs in Brunei’s aquaculture industry. We provide complimentary in-house fish health services and veterinary services. Previously farmers relied on non-formulated feed leading to sickness and unideal water conditions. We deploy our fish health team to farmers’ sites to collect samples, provide feedback and — depending on circumstances — provide fish feed that is sustainable and formulated for barramundi. We leverage our bulk purchasing power with the international feed company to bargain for local farmers to access more affordable and quality fish feed.

What are Barramundi Group’s main goals for the second phase of its development?

We are currently planning to deploy between six to nine cages offshore Brunei. The BG 2.0 phase involves having a fully recirculating aquaculture system built entirely on land that encompasses the entire lifecycle of fish from fry to harvest size, similar to what is happening in mature aquaculture industries such as Norway, Denmark, Canada and the USA. In these markets, aquaculture companies are focusing on hedging their risks by having both offshore and onshore RASs that manipulate water quality and water temperatures so fish can grow optimally year in and year out. Traditional offshore farm sites are a quick and more affordable way of deploying and increasing production capacity, whereas land sites have higher associated costs due to complex site engineering and the installation of sophisticated equipment. RAS is a new system. Based on data gathered from our existing farm sites in Brunei, the system demonstrates optimal growth and survivability unheard of when farming in offshore sea cages. RAS provides balanced production stability and biosecurity. Barramundi Group’s objective is to have a hybrid model to mitigate risks and provide sustainable returns to our investors and the community.

Additionally, we want to increase engagement with stakeholders in Brunei outside of Barramundi farmers and local regulators and departments. We are engaging with our aquaculture industry counterparts in Europe, Australia and Malta. We are making efforts to attract foreign direct investment to continue developing the local aquaculture ecosystem. We aim to transform Brunei into a major regional aquaculture player, which is a win-win situation for everyone. We are working with local government agencies and authorities to formulate a conducive framework for both local farmers and international aquaculture players to ensure biosecurity and industry-wide growth in the next five years. This is key to the success of the BG 2.0 phase.

As operations in Brunei scale with further investments, we will continue to emulate this fully integrated aquaculture company model. The trust attained by our Kühlbarra brand is highlighted by world-class chefs, restaurants, hotels and discerning customers choosing our products. The group is confident with the stability and assured support from the government, Brunei Economic Development Board and our investors that Barramundi Brunei will be able to materialize its vision for the local aquaculture industry. Brunei is a unique place to be for Barramundi Group. Our vision aligns well with Brunei’s Wawasan 2035 goal to dynamically and sustainably develop its economy.