wild places | wild happenings | wild news
make a difference for our wild places

home | links | search the site
  all articles latest | past | articles by topics | search wildnews
wild news on wildsingapore
  Today Online 19 Jan 06
RP students breed lobsters in captivity
Serene Chua

Nine students from Republic Polytechnic have succeeded in rearing lobsters in captivity from juvenile to harvest size.

Lobsters are traditionally "wild crop" and attempts at breeding them in these conditions have, until recently in Australia and India, been unsuccessful.

In captivity, the crustaceans can be bred much faster than in the wild because conditions such as salinity, food supply and temperature are kept at optimum levels for growth. For instance, it took two months for a 100g lobster to grow to a harvestable size of 300g, compared to the couple of years it would take in the wild.

Republic Polytechnic now wants to license the technology to interested parties, said Professor Low Teck Seng, the school's principal, at a media briefing yesterday.

"There is a natural market (and) anything that augments the world food sources through cultivation is very helpful," he said.

Mr Philip Choong, Republic Polytechnic's specialist consultant, said the school is already talking to a few interested parties in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The polytechnic's students, together with an unnamed industry party, had cultivated the lobsters using water re-circulation and water treatment technologies on the school premises. Natural supplements and minerals were added to the water and conditions such as lighting, water temperature and salinity had to be maintained at certain levels.

In total, 60 lobsters were reared. All were sold to a local restaurant, Huat Kee.

Channel NewsAsia 18 Jan 06
Republic Polytechnic the first to breed lobsters in captivity

SINGAPORE : Lobsters bred in captivity by Republic Polytechnic have now come of age and are ready to hit dinner tables.

But first came the all-important taste test by experts. Lee Chiang Howe, owner of Teochew Restaurant Huat Kee, gave it the thumbs up. "Very good. This is two layers. Look at that -- just nicely cooked. Same as from the sea. Very nice," he said.

Channel News Asia first reported that students of Republic Polytechnic had succeeded in cultivating lobsters in captivity. The lobsters were farmed in a simulated sea environment in tanks as the students kept a close watch on the temperature and feeding process. It took two months to grow the juvenile lobsters into a size fit for consumption.

This scientific breakthrough could mean cheaper lobsters when this lobster farming method is used on a larger scale. - CNA /ct
links
Related articles wild shores
about the site | email ria
  News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes.
 

website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com