Yang Berhormat Dato Paduka Hj Ali Hj Apong said Guangxi Hiseaton Foods will partner with a government-linked company to operate an offshore aquaculture farm in the coastal waters of Pelong Rocks later this year, reports the BruneiTimes.
"The venture is not only limited to an offshore aquaculture farm, but also a hatchery, a processing factory as well as a research and development centre," the minister said on the sidelines of a Nuzul Al-Quran celebration last week.
The joint venture, which will be known as Hiseaton Fisheries (B) Sdn Bhd, will bring in juvenile fish from China before raising and processing them here.
YB Dato Hj Ali said the United States and Middle East are being eyed as export markets for the aquaculture products. He added that the research and development centre that will be established will focus on conducting research trials on larval fish rearing. The research will test the feasibility of larval golden pompano rearing in Brunei and will also include trials for fish feed as the venture also aims to manufacture their own fish feed in the future, the minister said.
The venture is also expected to create about 100 jobs and will occupy 2,000 hectares of the country's offshore aquaculture sites.
