| Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
THE Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) yesterday hosted a working visit for 10 members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) to fisheries business sites in the Brunei-Muara District as part of the ministry’s Agriculture and Fishery Visit Programme.
The members were YB Pehin Orang Kaya Pendikar Alam Dato Paduka Seri Haji Hasrin bin Dato Paduka Haji Sabtu; YB Pehin Orang Kaya Putera Maharaja Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Ghani bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahim; YB Haji Umarali bin Esung; YB Haji Abdul Hamid @ Sabli bin Haji Arshad; YB Pengiran Haji Ali bin Pengiran Maon; YB Naim bin Haji Kamis; YB Haji Mohimin bin Haji Johari @ Jahari; YB Pengiran Haji Mohamed bin Pengiran Haji Osman @ Othman; YB Haji Abdul Wahab bin Apong; and YB Haji Emran bin Haji Sabtu.
Meant to give the LegCo members more exposure on the development and growth of the country’s fishery industry, the working visit began with a briefing at the ministry’s premises on the visits’ objectives and the MPRT’s strategic plan for the fisheries industry, delivered by Mariani binti Haji Sabtu, Acting Deputy Director of Fisheries at the MPRT.
The group’s first stop was the Golden Broodstock Development Centre in Meragang, where female rostrich prawns are being cultivated and produced by Golden Corporation Sdn Bhd. The site is equipped with modern technology and facilities capable of hatching and producing up to 2,000 female rostrich prawns per month, which the company hopes to supply to local prawn hatcheries.
The delegation next visited Rahman & Tew Sdn Bhd, a company which processes frozen fish at the Seafood Storage and Processing Building at the Muara Fish Landing Complex.
Beginning operations in 2016 and managed by Chua Kim Kok, the firm is equipped with a fish processing room, as well as 20-metric-tonne and 100-metric-tonne cold storage units. The company has set a 2017 production target of 936 metric tonnes of frozen fish, a portion of which will be exported to Vietnam.
The LegCo members then visited floating fish farms in Tanjong Pelumpong and Kaingaran Island, accessing the areas via boats provided by the Fisheries Department.
While in Tanjong Pelumpong, the group visited two farms: ODE Aquaculture and Agriculture Co, and Nur Nabai Aquaculture Sdn Bhd.
ODE Aquaculture and Agriculture Co, owned by Haji Azahari bin Haji Chuchu and his wife Hajah Nikmah binti Haji Ibrahim, is operated on a four-hectare site and equipped with 270 fish cages. Among the fishes farmed at the site are sea bass, grouper and red snapper.
Meanwhile, Nur Nabai Aquaculture Sdn Bhd is owned by Haji Abdul Rudi bin Haji Abdul Rahim and his Indonesian partner, Michael Cheung. Operating on a site measuring six hectares, the farm is equipped with 80 fish cages and specialises in the cultivation of hybrid grouper.
Next was Kaingaran Island fish farm, operated by Syarikat Hajah Rosni binti Haji Kassim dan Anak-Anak, which is owned by Haji Bakar bin Haji Chuchu. The business operates 117 fish cages over a one-hectare area. Fish farmed here are sea bass, grouper, red snapper, yellowspotted trevally and green mussels.
The group’s final stop was Helif Aquaculture Sdn Bhd at the Prawn Breeding Area in Mentiri Zone II. The company was established out of a joint venture between local and Malaysian investors, and has been supplying rostrich prawns to local restaurants, supermarkets, seafood processing plants and individuals.
The visited sites are examples of the industry focus areas which will be developed in the MPRT’s five-year Strategic Plan from 2016 until 2020.
Brunei’s fisheries industry has been able to make headway in penetrating the export market with the rostrich prawns – among these countries include Australia, the United States, China, Japan and Korea, while live fish has also been exported to the Hong Kong market.
The MPRT working visit programme is set to continue today and on Wednesday, with visits to other agricultural and fisheries company sites planned.
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