USSEC recently visited industrial aquaculture operations in Turkey and Norway.  USSEC Southeast Asia Technical Director – Aquaculture Lukas Manomaitis traveled to industrial marine fish aquaculture sites in these two countries to prepare for a potential trip by Southeast Asian marine fish aquaculture stakeholders in FY14 with the objective of these countries’ international marine fish aquaculture industries’ standards serving as examples to the Southeast Asian industry, possibly igniting the thought process that could lead to preparation for such changes.

The visits to Turkey and Norway demonstrated that while Southeast Asia’s marine fish production is high, the production in the region is far from efficient, sustainable or industrialized and that Southeast Asian farmers are losing profitability in areas where margins could be improved.  A visit to see the way that marine aquaculture is practiced in Turkey or Norway will not lead immediately to an industrial marine aquaculture industry in Southeast Asia, but it will set the standard for trip participants and highlight the definite need for dramatic improvement in Southeast Asia’s marine fish hatchery industry.  In Turkey, the Kilic Holding hatchery system produces more than 300 million high quality, immunized fingerlings for its own use and for sales.  A comparable system in Southeast Asia does not exist, which is the basis for a move to industrialized aquaculture.  This illustration provides insight into lessons, insights and examples that USSEC hopes to promote with team travel to these areas.
At this time, the proposed trip and FY14 project is unfunded; those who traveled on the investigative trip hope to describe the value and utility of such a visit by Southeast Asia stakeholders in an effort to find funding.