Should white shrimp be banned in RP?

Despite the prohibition of its entry in the Philippines, Luzon prawn producers are still pressuring the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to lift an existing ban on the exotic white shrimp or litopeneaus vannamei.

The growing popularity of vannamei in the Luzon region, has spawned tension among their counterparts in the Visayas, particularly the Negros Occidental growers, that widespread commercial production of vannamei will eventually hurt their own production of peneaus monodon or black tiger prawn.

Currently, vannamei is being produced primarily for the local market and is known in the wet markets as "suate." The volume being produced is still too small to merit the interest of processors and exporters. It is however, gaining acceptance from local fastfood chains and Chinese restaurants.

Those opposing the legalization of the entry of vannamei are insisting that the ban is covered by BFAR Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 207 despite the fact that a subsequent order, FAO 221 regulated, but partially allowed the entry of all live aquatic organisms into the country, including shrimps and crustaceans.

On the other hand, some sectors in the industry favor the regulated entry of white shrimp saying that the continued prohibition will not stop local culture but will just mean the entry of uncertified seedstock which are cheaper.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said he wants to maintain the ban, saying white shrimp culture is risky because it brings shrimp-related diseases for which no specific cures are available in the country. A non-government organization, the Tambuyog Development Center (TDC) spelled out what most prawn producers in the Visayas fear about vannamei.

Jaime Escober Jr., spokesperson of the TDC said there are too many risks involved with the unfamiliar species. "The main problem is ensuring domesticated, disease-free and disease-resistant supply of vannamei, which shrimp specialists refer to as Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) and Specific Pathogen Resistant (SPR) shrimp qualities.

This would require huge investments in the establishment of a secure hatchery, and setting up monitoring and control systems to prevent contact with infected sources," Escober said. He said eliminating smuggling and stamping out illegal culture of vannamei are far less costly measures.

The risks of contaminating local prawn hatcheries are great, said TDC. These diseases include the Taura syndrome virus and White Spot Syndrome Virus, two diseases that ravaged shrimp farms in the country in 1996 and 1997 and since then halved local shrimp production from its peak of 90,000 metric tons in 1994. Escober said even Thailand is now having second thoughts about continuing the culture of vannamei because of falling shrimp production due to diseases.

TDC said that rather than insist on legalizing vannamei production in the country, more sustainable aquaculture methods like polyculture and more extensive methods that bring no harm to the environment and the local communities should be encouraged by the government. On the other hand, the downside of producing white shrimp is being downplayed by Luzon prawn growers. They said the positive factors outweigh the disadvantages.

While Negros Occidental prawn producers keep on citing the possible viral diseases that vannamei could bring into local shrimp farms, their Luzon counterparts argued that there are already risks involved, particularly in the introduction of disease, but these they said, will have to be calibrated so the industry can move forward. Moreover, the diseases of vannamei and black tiger prawns are basically the same and that specific pathogen free (SPF) shrimps like vannamei are already available. The bigger concern, according to Luzon growers is the possibility of SPF shrimps acquiring diseases in the country which could be a cause for national embarrassment.

That’s because the environment is now contaminated with 16 or more viruses. Most prawn growers in Luzon agreed with the points raised by Wilfredo G. Yap, who ironically, is the chief of the aquaculture technology verification and commercialization division of the Visayas-based Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).

In a paper titled "Philippine Perspective on the Introduction of L. vannamei, Yap said the existing ban under FAO 207 may have unwittingly endangered the local shrimp varieties the order seeks to protect. "The Philippines has a porous border and has poor track record of stopping smuggling. If total enforcement of FAO 207 cannot be achieved, then its result is the complete opposite of its good intention of protecting the local sugpo industry," Yap said, adding that the current situation restricted the entry only to uncertified and unchecked fry stock from unknown sources since legal entry is not possible.

Moreover, Yap said the usual scare tactics of raiding shrimp farms in Zambales and detention of technicians and growers from Taiwan by immigration agents resulted in the mass release of vannamei stock into the open waters as they rushed to empty their bonds of incriminating evidence. He said vannamei is now in fact, being caught in natural waters within areas where the prawn ponds were emptied. "Under the present situation the Philippines has all the disadvantage or risk of diseases from uninspected fry but without the advantages such as greater availability of lower cost shrimps, cut down on import of small shrimps," Yap said.

Allowing the commercial production of vannamei is seen by Luzon prawn growers as a way to revive the local industry, in the same fashion as China and Thailand did with their respective shrimp sectors. Vietnam is also starting to encourage white shrimp fry faming. Yap noted that Thailand has decided that the culture of the species is worth the risk to their more than $42-billion export of black tigers. Prawn producers in Luzon said that even if vannamei entry is legalized, it will not easily replace local shrimp varieties because black tiger, in particular, continues to enjoy a premium price over white shrimp.

They said that eventually, it will be the market that will determine the product mix. Yap suggested the following options to resolve the conflict: stop smuggling of uncertified vannamei fry by issuing licenses to interested hatcheries to import broodstock, and encourage local companies to tie up with foreign entities with the know-how in shrimp domestication and broodstock development so that later on, techniques and facilities could be applied to our own species, including black tiger and hipong puti or peneuaus indicus.

In the meantime, the private-sector led Fisheries and Aquaculture Board of the Philippines, composed of various interest groups involved in pond, pen, and cage rearing of fish and crustaceans, hatchery operations, feed milling, processing and domestic/export marketing, are consulting with stakeholders to determine the proper course of action for the industry to take.

"Clearly, there is clamor to reevaluate the existing ban on vannamei. There are apprehensions about dealing with an unfamiliar shrimp specie, but there is an upside to it as well. What needs to be done is to come up with a balanced policy that will result in a win-win situation for those who want to see its legalization and commercialize production and for those who are threatened by vannamei‚s culture or propagation," said Pete Borja, FAB spokesperson.