Healthier outlook for Barramundi Group and its fish
But endemic challenges remain a problem at sea, says company
Singapore-headquartered Barramundi Group, which farms barramundi (Lates calcarifer) on land and at sea in Brunei, has reported encouraging improvements in biological performance and operating discipline in the first half of 2026.
But it remains cautious on the outlook for marine grow-out, where endemic biological challenges — in particular Lates calcarifer herpes virus (LCHV) — continue to constrain optimal survival and production performance. LCHV affects vital organs, including the liver, kidney, gills, pancreas, and eyes and can result in 60% to 80% mortality within days of clinical onset.
Fish mortality expense in H1 declined by 75% year-on-year to 0.28 million Singapore dollars (£162,400), while mortality biomass reduced from approximately 59.7 tonnes in H1 2025 to 20.6 tonnes. The fair-value loss on biological assets also reduced from SGD 0.76 million to SGD 0.34m.
Better husbandry
“Improvements in husbandry practices, including more frequent net cleaning and strengthened parasite-control protocols, have contributed to better survival performance,” Barramundi Group said in an operational update.
“Nevertheless, LCHV remains an important limiting factor in achieving targeted survival rates in the marine environment, and the Group continues to pursue both biological and technological solutions to this challenge.”
During H1, the company continued the progressive build-out of its marine site at Pelong Rocks, Brunei, with the deployment of an additional grow-out pen, Pelong 4, which was successfully stocked in July.
The Group also undertook a precautionary accelerated harvest of Pelong 1 after a potentially harmful algal bloom (HAB) was detected more than 60 kilometres from the farm.
“As the fish had already attained mature commercial harvest sizes, the Group elected to bring forward the harvest as a risk-management measure. There was zero HAB-related mortality associated with the event. The fish were harvested and processed, with a portion blast-frozen and held in inventory for subsequent sale,” the Group stated.
Broodstock RAS
Group has commenced construction of a new Broodstock Quarantine Centre (BQC) in Brunei. The land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility is intended to provide a protected environment for valuable broodstock presently maintained in marine cages at Pelumpong and to reduce their exposure to algal blooms and other environmental risks.
The BQC will also accommodate a small research office and laboratory to support future collaborative research, and is planned to be operational in time for a November 2026 collaboration between Barramundi Group, Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Wuhan Polytechnic University. Potential areas of collaboration including novel LCHV vaccine research, precision breeding, hatchery technologies and juvenile production studies.
Meanwhile, Barramundi Group subsidiary UVAXX has commenced field trials of vaccine candidates targeting bacterial pathogens as part of the pathway towards licensed commercial vaccine registration.
Grow-out facility
Barramundi Group, which restored itself to financial stability after a restructuring last year, has also continued the technical and design development of its planned landbased RAS grow-out facility at Mengsalut, Brunei.
“The Group views its existing marine operations, strengthened broodstock and juvenile capabilities, animal health programmes and future land-based RAS production as complementary elements of a progressively more resilient production platform rather than standalone initiatives,” said the company.
Delivered to the door
In the marketplace, Barramundi Group has completed the soft launch of its Kühlbarra Brunei online store, together with last-mile cold-chain delivery trials.
Trial deliveries were conducted to customers across all major districts in Brunei, validating ordering, packing, temperature integrity and last-mile fulfilment processes ahead of broader commercial development of the direct-to-consumer channel.
The Group said the initiative forms part of its broader efforts to strengthen local market penetration, improve product accessibility and develop higher-value routes to market for Brunei-produced barramundi.
