NCKU transfers grouper aquaculture technology to 3rd firm - China Post
TAIPEI--National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) announced yesterday that it has transferred novel immune-inhibition technology to promote grouper aquaculture to a third commercial operation.
NCKU President Hwung Hwung-hweng and Chen Ho-hsiu, chairman of Grobest Feeds Corp. signed a contract on the technology transfer a day earlier.
“The technology transfer will dramatically shorten the fish aquaculture period, cutting both risks and costs,” Chen said.
The technology will add NT$2.2 billion (US$72.85 million) to the company's revenue over the next five years and increase its market share, Chen estimated.
The technology was developed by Chen Tzong-yueh, director of NCKU's Institute of Biotechnology over the past three years and has already been transferred to two other companies this year.
Chen noted that the technology allows for fast growth in grouper, increasing the meat and fat content without the use of growth hormones.
In a 20-week field trial, Chen's research team used the immunosuppressant technology on one pond of groupers and a traditional method on another pond for comparison. The results show that groupers raised in the former pond grew to 490 grams, while the groupers raised in the latter pond reached only 375 grams.
According to Chen, grouper farms normally need 14 months to produce marketable 600-gram fish. With the new technology, however, his team only needs 10 months to produce the same size of fish.
Grouper is a high-value fish, and southern Taiwan is suitable for its aquaculture all year round because of the weather in the region.
According to the Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Research Institute, grouper raising is set to become a promising industry worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific region at its hub.
At present, China is the No. 1 producing country, with Taiwan ranked in second place, although Taiwan's annual output value of US$104 million is the world's highest — twice that of China.
NCKU President Hwung Hwung-hweng and Chen Ho-hsiu, chairman of Grobest Feeds Corp. signed a contract on the technology transfer a day earlier.
“The technology transfer will dramatically shorten the fish aquaculture period, cutting both risks and costs,” Chen said.
The technology will add NT$2.2 billion (US$72.85 million) to the company's revenue over the next five years and increase its market share, Chen estimated.
The technology was developed by Chen Tzong-yueh, director of NCKU's Institute of Biotechnology over the past three years and has already been transferred to two other companies this year.
Chen noted that the technology allows for fast growth in grouper, increasing the meat and fat content without the use of growth hormones.
In a 20-week field trial, Chen's research team used the immunosuppressant technology on one pond of groupers and a traditional method on another pond for comparison. The results show that groupers raised in the former pond grew to 490 grams, while the groupers raised in the latter pond reached only 375 grams.
According to Chen, grouper farms normally need 14 months to produce marketable 600-gram fish. With the new technology, however, his team only needs 10 months to produce the same size of fish.
Grouper is a high-value fish, and southern Taiwan is suitable for its aquaculture all year round because of the weather in the region.
According to the Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Research Institute, grouper raising is set to become a promising industry worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific region at its hub.
At present, China is the No. 1 producing country, with Taiwan ranked in second place, although Taiwan's annual output value of US$104 million is the world's highest — twice that of China.
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