| Brief History | Vision & Mission | Functions,
Roles & Responsibilities |
BRIEF HISTORY
The present Fisheries Department was established in 1966. It started operations early
the following year with 2 expatriate professional officers and 15 local staff. The
department was then housed at the Royal Customs and Excise building at the centre of the
capital Bandar Seri Begawan known at that time as Bandar Brunei. The office was moved to
the Churchill Memorial Building upon its completion. The Churchill Memorial Building in
addition to the Fisheries Department also housed, the Hassanal Bolkiah Aquarium with its
freshwater and marine aquaria, and part of the Museums Department which included the
Winston Churchill Museum. The Hassanal Bolkiah Aquarium was demolished in 1991 to make way
for the Royal Regalia Exhibition and the Fisheries Department moved out of the building to
a rented area at the Athirah Building Complex. The department moved to the new Ministry of
Industry and Primary Resources building in March 1996.
In the initial years of its operation, the bulk of the department manpower and
financial resources (approximately 60%) were directed towards managing and running the
Hassanal Bolkiah Aquarium and the running of a freshwater fish farm at Kampong Tungku in
the Brunei/Muara District. The rest of the manpower and financial resources were directed
towards servicing the artisanal capture fisheries. The department however did recognise
the importance of the marine fish resources and in 1968, a short survey was conducted in
the Brunei Waters. Even though the scope of the survey was rather limited, the survey did
show the presence of a moderate fish resource that can be developed and further
investigation needed to be undertaken to determine the size of the resource.
