From next year, fish farms operating in Singapore's coastal waters will have to pay for the use of sea spaces, which are increasingly being sought after for purposes such as solar panel deployment and other maritime, industrial or recreational activities.
Currently, such farms do not pay for the use of sea space. Farmers pay only for the yearly renewal of their fish culture farm licences, at $850 per half-hectare per year.
This means that unlike land-based farms, coastal fish farms do not have leases that provide certainty on their use of sea spaces.
But this is soon set to change, when longer leases are introduced for new land and sea parcels so there is greater certainty for farmers, Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Des-mond Tan said yesterday during the debate on his ministry's budget.
Greater certainty could spur farmers to invest in high-tech solutions that could boost yields.
Existing farms will be eased into this arrangement starting with yearly renewable temporary occupation licences from Jan 1. By then, the fish farm licence fees will be reduced to $145 per half-hectare.
New farm applications and farms with major changes to their farming activities will be subject to a one-off assessment fee, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
The temporary occupation licence, which must also be renewed annually, will cost $3,600 per half-hectare in the Johor Strait - the narrow body of water to the north of Singapore where most of the Republic's 110 licensed fish farms are located.
In the southern waters, where the Barramundi Group now operates across two sites, the temporary occupation licence will be $6,000 per half-hectare.
SFA said the valuation of sea-based farms takes into account factors such as "locational attributes".
The Straits Times earlier reported that an SFA-commissioned study had found that the Johor Strait is nearing carrying capacity, or maximum production levels. Production above the maximum levels could result in poorer water quality within the farming zones and impact productivity.
SFA said in a separate statement to ST that the temporary occupation licence for existing farmers will be renewed annually within a 10-year transition period, as long as the Government does not have plans for the space and farms meet the requirements of this licence.
But a phased approach will be adopted to ease the farms towards a lease instrument, said the SFA.
"Farms will only start paying 20 per cent (of the temporary occupation licence fees) in 2024, 50 per cent in 2025, and 100 per cent from 2026," the spokesman added.
On leases, Mr Tan said new land and sea parcels will benefit from longer term leases of 20 plus 10 years. "This means that future tenders will offer farmers the option of extending their lease beyond the initial 20-year period for an additional 10 years, subject to farms meeting SFA's production output conditions," he added.
This will apply to new land parcels in Sungei Tengah and Lim Chu Kang, as well as new sea space tenders that will be launched from the end of this year.
More details will be announced by SFA when the tenders are launched, he added.
