Intervet AAH Director visits fish and shrimp farms in Asia

10 May 2004

In view of the importance of Asian aquaculture,  Alistair Brown, Director of Intervet’s Aquatic Animal Health Division, recently spent two weeks in Asia. During his trip, Alistair visited a number of farms in five Asian countries covering fish and shrimp, freshwater and marine, and warmwater and coldwater species. 
He also met people from various organizations, research institutes and nutrition companies. It was indeed a busy and productive trip. Fourteen flights were taken in 14 days, not to mention the car and boat rides. “The scale and 
diversity of Asian aquaculture is fascinating,” said Alistair, “It represents a great number of challenges to and opportunities for Intervet.” 

A tilapia broodstock farm outside  Bangkok, Thailand. Workers are collecting  eggs from brooders. In recent years, tilapia  has become one of the most consumed fish  in the world. Thailand produced 100,000  metric tones tilapia in 2002, 10% of which  were exported to the USA.
Alistair Brown with Mr. Dai Quen  Chai, President of Long Diann Aquatic  Products Farming Technology, in his marine  fish hatchery in southern Taiwan. Taiwan is  the best known fish reproduction country in  the world and Long Diann has been a  pioneer of reproduction and commercial- ization of several important marine species.
An eel farm in Fujian Province,  China. Fujian is the biggest eel production  area in the world with an annual output of  60,000 metric tonnes, accounting for over a  quarter of world production.
A turbot farm in Northern China. The  turbot industry is growing fast. China  produced approximately 8,000 metric tonnes  last year. The restaurant price is about  US$40 per kg due to its delicious taste and  high market demand.
One of the biggest shrimp  hatcheries in the world, located in Lampung,  Indonesia. Over 4 billion post larvae are  produced annually, mostly Litopenaeus  vannamei with some Penaeus monodon.