BFAR pushes export of ornamental fish

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is intensifying its campaign for the production of high-value ornamental fishes for export.

This was announced by BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento during the launch of the Ornamental Fish Development Project at the Bioresearch breeding and hatchery facility in Pila, Laguna recently.

"The vigorous campaign on ornamental fish production and export, especially here in Southern Tagalog (Region IV-A), is aimed at creating rural jobs and backyard livelihood, increasing dollar incomes, contributing substantially to the attainment of President Arroyo’s 10-point agenda on national development, and addressing the decrease in the country’s surface areas allotted for aquaculture," Sarmiento said in an interview.

Section 51 of Republic Act 8550 limits aquaculture to only 10 percent of surface areas even as industrialization results in the multiple use of bodies of water.

These factors led to the decrease of aquaculture areas. In Laguna lake, for example, the area allotted to aquaculture shrank from 38 percent to only 10 percent, resulting in the dislocation of many fish cage operators.

To address the problem and still increase production incomes, BFAR has shifted from traditional (bangus & tilapia) to high-value species (ulang & ornamentals) and from water-based to land-based aquaculture using backyard fishponds and tanks.

For ornamental fish, BFAR is specifically targeting reduction of imports while promoting exports as part of its medium-term (2004-2009) plan.

The plan was based on the surging ornamental fish trade that ballooned to $188.4 million in 2003 and continues to do so up to the present. Of that volume, 85 percent involved freshwater species and 15 percent marine. Of the freshwater species, 90 percent were cultured and 10 percent wild.

The uptrend is consistent over the 20-year period beginning 1983, when world demand for ornamental fish was less than $50 million and the supply level was only at $38.9 million.

The bulk of the supply went to United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Germany, and France, and more than 50 percent of it came from Asia – Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Japan, and the Philippines.

And for two decades, ornamental fishes have been in the top 10 fishery exports of the Philippines in terms of value as the country has the natural capacity and existing facilities for its production – vast freshwater resources, year-round tropical climate, available manpower, farmers and breeders, international ports, government and private research and development centers, fisheries schools, indigenous species.

At present, however, the country is still lacking in technology and information dissemination, enough quality broodstock, capital and credit support, commercial scale breeding, hatchery, fish health and nutrition facilities, and policy on ornamental fish zoning, production programming, and accreditation of ornamental fish operators.

These gaps are being addressed by BFAR through research, technology development and training, promotional and regulatory measures, multipartite contract growing, area-based species specialization, and advocacy on the use of existing fish cages and production facilities.