Towards Sustainable Aquaculture: Finding and Supporting Malaysia’s Aquapreneurs

Abstract

Malaysia’s aquaculture sector is undergoing a sustainability transition, driven by farmers experimenting with nature‑positive, climate‑smart and inclusive practices. The CAINA project, in partnership with Malaysian universities and supported by IDRC and the Government of Canada, is identifying what nature‑based aquaculture (NBA) looks like in practice, developing standards and tools to assess environmental, social, and economic impacts. By working directly with entrepreneurial farmers and conducting field case studies, the project highlights innovators advancing regenerative, low-impact approaches—from seaweed and shellfish systems to integrated multitrophic aquaculture—while mapping pathways to scale these models across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.