Uggah impressed by fish farm

Uggah (left) lookg at frozen tilapia from the farm ready for market. Next to him is Ling.

MIRI, May 26: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas gave a thumbs-up to his recent visit to a tilapia fish farm belonging Totara Aquaculture Sdn Bhd located in Luak here.

The farm which was set up about two years ago consists of 111 concrete tanks on a two-hectare site.

“I have visited a number of fruits and vegetables farms here but this is the first time I encountered a fish farm in the city area and I am gobsmacked to say the least,” he said in a statement today.

Uggah who sampled the tilapia reared on the farm for lunch said the fish was comparable to those from Batang Ai hydro dam lake.

“There is no muddy aftertaste associated with tilapia farmed in ponds. I am sure the farm has a lot of potential,” he added

Uggah (red cap) being shown and briefed about the fish reared in the many concrete ponds at the farm.

Uggah who is also the Minister for Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development said the farm owner’s efforts was exemplary and the farm was a model to follow.

“The farm will be an ideal place for study visit by those interested in aquaculture,” he said.

The farm’s managing director Ling Chiong Sieng disclosed that besides tilapia, the farm also reared local species like “patin”, “sultan”, “keli” and Jade Perch which is native to Australia.

“Our monthly production is about six tonnes of mainly tilapia and the harvest is sold in the city and Bintulu town,” he said.

Ling said that his future plan is to go into fish fillet production. — DayakDaily