The Malaysian Insider – 2 hours 42 minutes agoRELATED CONTENT
- World’s first commercially bred lobsters hatched in Sabah
Malaysia took a step closer to the US$4 billion global market for lobsters following Sabah's success in producing commercially hatched ornate spiny lobsters.
President and CEO of Lobster Aqua Technologies Sdn Bhd, Dr Shahridan Faiez said this was the first time large edible lobsters were successfully bred.
In a press statement, Shahridan said the Integrated Lobster Aquaculture Park (iLAP) Mini Commercial Hatchery was now home to the world’s first ever commercially hatched lobsters.
"This ground breaking milestone marks a massive leap for Sabah in cutting edge aquaculture technology," Shahridan said.
"It also brings Malaysia a step closer to the global market for lobsters that is valued at over US$4 billion a year.
“Only a handful of people in the world have the knowledge and technology to successfully culture the critical 11 stages and undergo metamorphosis from larvae form to juvenile lobster."
He said for a breeding process to be successful, the waters have to be pristine.
He said the breakthrough will put Sabah on the map as a state with sustainable agrifood production and Malaysians as world experts in lobster aquaculture.
The RM3 billion and 15-year lobster aquaculture project is expected to create 20,000 high-income jobs by 2028.
The hatchery-based lobster juveniles have already been deployed into sea-cages for the first time ever in Semporna.
“We are proud to have successfully localised this hatchery technology. This is how technology and talent come together and become a powerful catalyst for transformation.
"Without state and federal government support, none of this would have been possible,” Shahridan said. – 16 November, 2014.
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