STEM fair showcases fish spawning with oral hormone technology

Image: (foreground, left) Guest of Honour Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, at the NTU booth showcasing a pioneering technology for fish spawning using oral hormone product. 

A research team from NTU, has pioneered an oral hormone delivery system using encapsulation for inducing food fish spawning. This method has demonstrated higher fertilisation rates and improved survival of fish larvae compared to the conventional injection technique.

The breakthrough innovation supports a more efficient and sustainable aquaculture industry and contributes to Singapore’s “30 by 30” goal - to locally produce 30% of the nation’s nutritional needs by 2030.

In trials involving 30 Asian seabass broodstock per tank and fed with encapsulated hormone, the oral hormone method proved as effective as the traditional injection approach.Image: Fish feed coated with encapsulated hormone microparticles. 

Image: Fish feed coated with encapsulated hormone microparticles. 

Fish administered with the oral hormone showed fertilisation rates of 80.5%, outperforming the injection group, which recorded 51%.

Larval (Baby fish) survival rates were also higher in the oral hormone group: 86% vs 71% (injection method) which corresponds to total viable eggs of 8.35 million (oral method) vs 3.8 million (injection method).

This marks the first documented success of spawning Asian seabass induced through oral hormone administration. To date, spawning of fishes requiring hormone stimulation has only been achieved via invasive hormone injections.

The innovation was showcased at the Live It Up! fair (14 to 16 August) organised by NTU Singapore to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Image: (5th from L-R) Professor Warren Chan, Dean of the College of Engineering, NTU; Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Janil Puthucheary; and Professor Joachim Loo, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, NTU, at the launch of the Live It Up! STEM fair on Thursday (14 Aug).

The event, held at Marina Bay Sands, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 1, Halls A & B, was officially opened on Thursday (14 Aug) by Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Janil Puthucheary.

This three-day fair, which is free and open to the public, features interactive exhibitions showcasing engineering innovations, hands-on STEM-focused workshops, and engaging talks by industry experts.

Live It Up! is led by NTU’s College of Engineering, in collaboration with Singapore’s five polytechnics – Nanyang, Ngee Ann, Singapore, Republic, and Temasek – and the Science Centre Singapore.