Aquaculture

Ranking officials of international donor agencies and institutions supporting and working on aquaculture and related fields in Asia and the Pacific began their three-day meeting in the country yesterday, confident that these areas can be fully harnessed to help boost food security in the region.

"Aquaculture is the wave of the future," asserted former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor as he set the tone of the top level "Regional Consultation on the Role of Aquaculture and Living Aquatic Resources: Priorities for Support and Networking".

In a speech read for him by the government-hosted Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC AQD) chief Dr. Rolando R. Platon, Montemayor stressed: "With our fast dwindling marine resources, aquaculture is now our last resort and hope for increasing our fish production and helping it catch up with our growing population and food demand".

Activities during the first two days of the consultation are held at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Makati City and those at the last day at the SEAFDEC AQD main office and station in Tigbauan, Iloilo, situated 24 kilometers west of Iloilo City.

Organizers of the scientific forum are the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia (NACA), International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), Mekong River Commission (MRC), and SEAFDEC AQD.

Donor institutions represented are the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), United States agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), European Union (EU), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technischche Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGCI) of Belgium, and Norwegian Trade Council of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila.

The consultation will update the donors and institutions on the role, needs, and potentials of aquaculture developing and living aquatic resources management in Asia and the Pacific so that these can be prioritized and made part of their development programs for the region.

"Aquaculture will play a major role in our pursuit of food security," Montemayor stated.

In the Philippines, aquaculture contributed 38 percent of the total fisheries production. In the first nine months of 2002, aquaculture grew by 6.2 percent.

"In the long run," he projected, "the need to boost aquaculture production will greatly rely on environmentally sound practices. Improving production requires recognition of the carrying capacity of an ecosystem, and a thorough understanding of the environmental consequences of aquaculture operations."

Another opening program speaker, FAO representative in the Philippines Dr. Sang Mu Lee, also pointed out that Aquaculture and inland fisheries are vital components of rural livelihood enterprises globally, but in particular in many Asian countries.

Asia’s consumption of fish comprised two-thirds of the world’s total of 94 million tons. Close to 50 percent of protein is derived from fish consumption in Bangladesh, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Cambodia, and the Republic of Korea.

In addition to providing quality protein, essential dietary micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids, lysine, and iodine together with vital opportunities for employment, cash income, and foreign exchange are also derived.

Unfortunately, Dr. Sang said, the livelihood and national economic benefits of these sectors are often hidden from view, overlooked by agricultural economists and marginalized by export-focused policies.

"Yet the reality is that the contribution to national economies is undeniable, particularly for the poorest members of society who are reliant on the open access resources of inland fisheries and small-scale aquaculture for household income generation," the FAO official said.

Dr. Sang concluded: "The year 2003 has been designated the International Year of Freshwater, so it is, therefore, timely for this consultation to take into account this largely unsung sector which is the lifeblood for so many of the people in this region."