R&D breakthroughs benefit RP aquaculture industry

TIGBAUAN, Iloilo – A government-hosted Southeast Asian center based here observed its 29th anniversary this month, confident that it can continue supporting the aquaculture research and development (R&D) programs of its member countries.

The Philippines has been among the primary beneficiaries of the technologies generated by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC AQD).

Over the past decade, SEAFDEC AQD has intensified its technology verification and commercialization program, resulting in the adoption of technologies it has developed by fisherfolk and the aquaculture industry.

These are reflected by testimonies and letters sent to SEAFDEC AQD, particularly to its current chief, Dr. Rolando R. Platon, who has just been reappointed for an unprecedented fourth term on the recommendation of Philippine government following President Arroyo’s endorsement.

Typical of such concurrence with SEAFDEC AQD’s present thrust was that of Roberto Gatuslao, president of the Negros Prawn Producers Marketing Cooperative, Inc. (NPPMCP) and concurrently interim president of the Philippine Shrimp Association (PHILSHRIMP).

"Dr. Platon has made a major shift by intensifying the institutionalization of this thrust with the acquisition of a 15-hectare brackishwater pond facility in Dumangas, Iloilo, where in-house field verification and packing of technologies can be done.

During his first three two-year terms, Dr. Platon established other major aquaculture facilities such as the Integrated Fish Broodstock and Matchery Demonstration Complex (a showcase of AQD’s breeding-hatchery technologies) and FishWorld (an environment education center)".

With these developments, Gatuslao said, "there is now a continuum in SEAFDEC AQD’s R&D process – from laboratory research to commercialization."

He concluded: "We at Negros have felt the important presence of SEAFDEC AQD under the administration of Dr. Platon and are convinced that the institution is giving utmost attention to validation and transfer of viable technologies."

AQD is one of the four technical departments of SEAFDEC, a treaty organization established in 1967 to promote fisheries development in Southeast Asia. SEAFDEC members are the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Brunei Darussalam.

AQD was created in 1973 to conduct resesearch, develop technologies, disseminate information, and train people in the farming of fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, and seaweeds for food, livelihood, equity, and sustainable development.

The department’s first breakthrough was the induced spawning, seed production in the nursery, and the completion of the lfie cycle of the tiger prawn (Penseus monedon) in captivity. As seeds and feeds became available, shrimp grow-out in ponds spread all over Asia and the world.

In the late 1980s, however, many shrimp farmers went intensive, stocking as high as 300,000 to 500,000 fry per hectare. Disease problems occurred and mortalities were almost always total.

Aquaculture exports have conceded that "self-generated" pollution is what is wreaking havoc on the industry. And the disease afflicting shrimp farms are but the manifestation of what actually ails the industry.

A Department of Agriculture-initiated "Operation: Sagip Sugpo" was subsequently launched, with SEAFDEC AQD and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as spearheads.

An environment-friendly shrimp production technology has been developed and promises to be a key answer to the industry’s problems. The technology has been found viable in various experimental shrimp farms in the country and, lately in one site in Myanmar.

The second breakthrough chalked up by AQD was induced spawning, larval rearing, and the completion of the life cycle of the milkfish. Matchery oeprations thus became possible in 1980 when spontaneous spawning of bangus broodstock (breeder) was established in floating cages.

Subsequent scientific headways were achieved in such species as grouper (lapu-lapu), seabass (apahap), snappers (maya-maya), rabbitfish (danggit), abalone, carp, windowpane oyster (kapis), and sea horse.

With the local catfish (hito) facing extinction owing to overexploitation, SEAFDEC AQD has developed a technology for the mass production of the Asian catfish (Clarias macrocephalus) that promises to revive the native catfish industry.

Now being transferred are such technologies as raising mudcrab (alimango) in mangrove, producing grouper and catfish in ponds, rearing tilapia in net cages, growing hatchery-reared milkfish fry, and culturing oysters and mussels (tahong) in rafts.

The results have been encouraging, as attested by local government officials and fisherfolk in coastal as well as landlocked towns, particularly in the Visayas.

Youthful reelected mayor Jed Tirol of Tangalan, Aklan, stated: "Our collaboration with SEAFDEC AQD aims to provide an alternative livelihood for our community. Their aquaculture technologies promise to uplift our community’s standard of living."

Upon his reappointment last April, Dr. Platon set to continue AQD’s priority of technology commercialization and transfer.

Added to this is a new direction for AQD-biotechnology research – which, with the approval of the Japanese government-funded P411-million Laboratory for Advanced Aquaculture Technologies, will help the aquaculture industry attain its goal of sustainability.