Fish nutrition in Malaysia: Status and problems

Abstract

In aquaculture, nothing is more important than a well-balanced diet and adequate feeding. An undernourished fish is never able to maintain its health and attain its growth potential regardless of the quality of its environment. The production of nutritionally balanced diet for fish requires research, quality control, and biological evaluation.

The Department of Fisheries first acknowledged the importance of formulated feed when it established the Feed Section at the Fisheries Research Institute in Glugor in 1976. With the establishment of the research branch, Brackishwater Aquaculture Research Centre (BARC), in Gelang Patah, Johor in 1979 and the National Prawn Fry Production and Research Centre (NAPFRE) in Pulau Sayak, Kedah in 1987, the feed section has been expanded further to cover pond grow-out feeds for fishes and shrimps and the postlarval stage of shrimps. The feed section in Glugor placed greater emphasis on larval and postlarval feed. In the case of freshwater fishes, research and production of feeds began in 1975 at the Freshwater Fish Research Station, Batu Berendam, Melaka.

The development of formulated feeds is concentrated on fishes and crustaceans.