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If you're looking for an outdoor activity that is also educational, you can check out this local shrimp farm tour.
Blue Aqua, which specialises in shrimp aquaculture technology, has a breeding centre located at 21 Neo Tiew Lane 1, near the northwestern tip of Singapore.
Recently, the company launched a Shrimp Farm Tour and Tasting under its food retail brand, nature's hug.
Through this, Blue Aqua hopes to raise awareness of the importance of local food production and share their knowledge of urban shrimp farming.
Breeding three types of shrimp
Guests get a guided tour of the "super-intensive" shrimp farm and hatchery.
The tour starts off at the broodstock centre, where parent shrimp are used for breeding.
Photo by Ashley Tan
Blue Aqua currently focuses on breeding three types of shrimp — white shrimp, blue tiger shrimp, and kuruma shrimp (also known as Japanese tiger shrimp) .
The latter, for which Blue Aqua will start retailing in 2023, is the most expensive shrimp in the market, with one kilogram going for S$200.
Blue Aqua, however, plans to expand their offerings by selling blue shrimp and banana shrimp soon, two species which are not as commonly found in Asia.
Photo by Ashley Tan
According to a press release, Blue Aqua is able to produce 10kg of shrimp per square metre of farm space, which is 10 times the industry standard. It can churn out 100 million shrimp larvae a year.
Resource efficient system
Guests can also get a peek at the vats where food is manufactured for the shrimp larvae, and the large tanks where shrimp are sorted at their different life stages.
There will also be hands-on harvesting and feeding opportunities.
Photo by Ashley Tan
Photo by Ashley Tan
Here's a full grown shrimp for inspection.
Photo by Ashley Tan
According to Blue Aqua, the farm uses a "patented farming system" to manage the water quality at optimum levels "to be resource efficient".
Additionally, it claims to operate on a zero-waste system through the use of phytoplankton, a type of microscopic algae, to hoover up the organic waste produced by the shrimp.
Photo by Ashley Tan
The shrimp are also grown and bred "naturally" without the use of antibiotics, chemicals and other additives.
To ensure customers get the freshest shrimp, the crustaceans are harvested daily and subsequently delivered to supermarkets like FairPrice and Cold Storage under the nature's hug brand.
Considering the company's more sustainable methods of shrimp farming, their shrimp products are priced higher than market rate as well.
With the farm tours, Blue Aqua hopes to educate consumers on the inner workings of the farm and on the price difference compared to other seafood brands.
Shrimp and wine
The tour ends off with a three-course shrimp tasting session comprising a shrimp salad, charcoal-grilled shrimp, and shrimp tacos, paired with some sweet sparkling white wine from Italy.
The food is prepared by a chef on the spot, so everything is served piping hot.
Photo by Ashley Tan
The tacos were quite delicious.
Photo by Ashley Tan
As someone who isn't typically a fan of the fishy odour of seafood, I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh the charcoal-grilled shrimp tasted.
Photo by Ashley Tan
Those intrigued by Blue Aqua's shrimp can purchase a pack to bring home after the tour.
Blue Aqua's shrimp farm tour costs S$55 for adults, and S$45 for kids.
Currently, the only available slots for the tour are Jul. 3, Jul. 16, and Jul. 30, 4pm.
Spend a minimum of S$60 on shrimp on the nature's hug website, and enjoy a 20 per cent discount on the price of the farm tour. This promotion ends on Jun. 30.
Book your tickets here.
Top photo by Ashley Tan