News Industry update
Barramundi Group partners with AquaBioTech for Brunei RAS installation

Barramundi Group Ltd. has awarded Malta’s AquaBioTech Group a turnkey contract for the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of a RAS broodstock, hatchery and live feed facility for barramundi (Lates calcarifer) in Brunei Darussalam.

This new facility comes after an earlier investment in its already-operational RAS nursery, a press release from the company states.

“A second state-of-the-art RAS facility in the country enhances its overall food and biosecurity posture and adds another cornerstone in its nascent but fast-growing aquaculture sector. AquaBioTech has proven to be particularly suited to designing a tropical RAS with their deep multidisciplinary bench and track record, and we are very pleased to be working with them beyond this RAS, but also our BG2.0 3,000MT grow-out facility in Mengsalut,” said James Kwan, CEO, Barramundi Group.

The new facility is scheduled to be completed and commissioned in the next 18 months. The Brunei operations will be fully self-sufficient; broodstock, live-feed, larviculture, fry and fingerling production for its current stocking at sea.

“Having this new RAS broodstock and hatchery facility integrated into our existing and operational RAS nursery is a game changer. When commissioned, we will be able to produce consistently, the highest-performance juveniles from our own pathogen-resilient and genetically-superior broodstock, unhindered by external constraints,” added Kwan.

The peak production capability of the new facility will be at over 6 million juveniles per year and the facility will be able to cater for additional juvenile requirements for a new 3,000 MT land-based RAS grow-out facility. The company is also presently in the intermediate design phase of this facility, for its 17-hectare Mengsalut site, with AquaBioTech Group.

“This contract is significant not just for AquaBioTech, but also for Brunei. This project will be a significant catalyst for the development of barramundi and other land-based aquaculture initiatives in Brunei, strengthening food security and enabling the country to explore new export markets” said Shane A. Hunter, AquaBioTech Group’s CEO.