Singapore's First Land-Based Rainbow Trout Farm Starts Trial Operations, Supply Possible by Year-End

Singapore's first rainbow trout farm has begun trial operations, and as soon as the end of this year, locally farmed rainbow trout could be on the table.

Local aquaculture company Blue Aqua held the launch ceremony at its rainbow trout farm in Liang Zhou Fengshou Lane, Lim Chu Kang, and announced phased capacity expansion. The farm's initial annual output is expected to reach 1,200 tonnes, with the potential to increase to 3,000 tonnes in the future.

This 1.6-hectare land-based farm cost about S$45 million. Rainbow trout are cold-water fish and have strict requirements for water temperature, water quality and growing conditions. The operator uses an advanced recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), applying fully enclosed environmental control technology to precisely regulate temperature, water quality and biosecurity in Singapore's tropical climate.

According to the reporter's observations that day, the farm's infrastructure was basically complete, but the ponds had not yet been filled with water. Blue Aqua founder Farshad Shishehchian said the company has already prepared the roe, and it will take only about 8 to 10 months to raise fish to around 500 grams.

He said the company hopes to start producing rainbow trout by the end of this year to test market response; the first batch of locally farmed rainbow trout is expected to weigh between 350 and 400 grams.

As for the first yield, Farshad admitted it is still hard to predict accurately. “We need to do a lot of tuning and optimization. The result could far exceed expectations, or it could fall short. In essence, this is a process of constant calibration and improvement.”

Founded in 2009, Blue Aqua also operates a shrimp farm in the same area, with an annual output of about 120 tonnes. Farshad said rainbow trout and shrimp are different species, each with different farming challenges and advantages. Although rainbow trout farming requires higher upfront capital, the system is highly automated and combined with AI management technology, making precise operations easier overall.

Farshad stressed that the rainbow trout farm will gradually increase annual output in the future. This is not just an ordinary automated farm, but a fully controlled aquaculture system. The company's data is very precise because the planning and design are based on actual capacity calculations.

According to data released by the Singapore Food Agency in May this year, local fish farms produced 3,800 tonnes of seafood last year, up 8.6% from 3,500 tonnes the year before, but still only about 2.7% of the nation's seafood supply. Meanwhile, seafood imports rose from 124,600 tonnes to 138,000 tonnes, underscoring Singapore's heavy reliance on imports for food.

The number of local farms has fallen for five straight years

Overall, the local farming environment remains difficult, and the number of farms has fallen for five consecutive years. Official data show that the number of sea farms has continued to shrink since 2022, plunging from 109 to 67 last year; land-based farms have been relatively stable, with 34 as of 2024.

Blue Ocean Aquaculture Technology also runs an indoor land-based fish farm. Managing director Huang Yisheng previously pointed out that indoor fish farms already face high operating costs, and if they cannot break even for a long time, they will eventually be eliminated by the market.

Farshad admitted that the company has gone through many failures and lessons, so it will learn from experience and avoid repeating the same mistakes. “We do not want another failure case,” he said. The company has carefully calculated the cost-effectiveness and is confident it can keep locally farmed rainbow trout cheaper than imported rainbow trout, improving market competitiveness.