Myanmar’s first freshwater fish farming research centre is currently under construction and it will be transferred to the government in December, said U Hla Win, regional officer of Department of Fisheries of Mandalay Region. The construction is currently being carried out by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The construction is almost a hundred percent finished. There are only machines left to be installed inside. In December, people from the construction team will transfer [the centre] to the government, he said. In 2015, an agreement was signed between KOICA and Myanmar’s Department of Fisheries to erect the country’s first freshwater fish breeding research centre. Once the South Korean experts found a suitable site, construction started in August 2016 at Thayet Gone fish farming centre in Mandalay, costing US$4.4 million, said U Hla Win. As soon as the remaining machineries have been installed, the centre will be able to conduct basic study of freshwater fish breeding, conduct a research to find a fish farming system compatible with Myanmar’s environment and rely on technology for the long-term development of freshwater fish breeding sector, the fisheries department said. If we can acquire technologies related to pisciculture, it will be extremely convenient for our fish farmers. Right now, we are still at the stage of breeding fish by placing eggs into the lake. I hope that after the research centre is completed, we will be able to use international methods, said U Win Soe, a fish farmer from Amarapura township. As of now, the lake used for farming fish in Mandalay extends to nearly 7,000 acres with over 270 ponds. However, due to the lack of technology, the amount of fish produced from these farms is not proportionate to the population within Mandalay; fishes have to be imported daily from other cities, said regional officer U Hla Win.