AAHS will also help farms get scientifically verified diagnoses.
SFA launched a tender for the AHHS on Wednesday, and it is expected to begin operations early next year.
The agency will fund two consultations and two disease investigations a year for each farm for the first two years of the programme.
This will be scaled back to one consultation and one disease investigation a year for the next two years.
Farmers will have to pay for medication, chemicals, vaccines and transport, as well as any additional consultations and disease investigations.
Mr Malcolm Ong, Chief Executive of The Fish Farmer, believes AAHS will help reduce costs, help weaker fish survive, and also boost productivity.
His company owns four farms in Singapore and produces about 1,000 tonnes of fish such as Asian seabass and red snapper a year, which go to supermarkets, wholesalers and food and beverage businesses.
Said Mr Ong: "All farms have to contend with disease in the form of viruses, bacteria or parasites. There is a natural mortality rate and every batch of fish naturally produces some which are stronger and some which are weaker.
“We're now working in a high-cost environment and this will help us to produce more with less.”
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said over 20 farms have expressed interest in the service.
Dr Koh, who is also Senior Minister of State for Manpower, strongly encouraged aquaculture firms here to tap the service.
In 2021, Singapore had 27 land-based seafood farms and another 110 based in the sea.
The Republic produced about 5,000 tonnes of seafood last year, accounting for about 8 per cent of all food the country consumed.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
