BFAR promotes use of aerators to increase shrimp production

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources(BFAR) is introducing a mechanized aquaculture system that would increase production of shrimps by as much five times using a especially-designed aerator.

Dr. Westly Rosario of BFAR said he has started adopting the system in a fishpond at the sprawling BFAR center in Barangay Bonuan Binloc here as he wants shrimp growers in Pangasinan to adopt it for “smart farming and for the Philippines to be globally competitive” for the shrimp industry.

“We want to promote this mechanized farming system for better fish production per unit area,” Rosario said.

“With the aerator, mechanically, we inject oxygen,” he said.

In other countries, he said, the system has already been adopted.  In the Philippines, Rosario said, the system  could be ideal for vannamei shrimps.

He said the country needs an excellent machine that is cost efficient.

The machine, donated to the center by a friend, creates micro bubbles for faster transfer of oxygen from the air to the water vital for the shrimps’ survival.

Rosario said Pangasinan which is gifted by nature with aquaculture potentials with hundred of fishponds, particularly in its coastal areas, produces until now shrimps good for household consumption only.

Other countries had been using this aerator machine for high values fish species, he said.

The right response

He said this is the right response to proper and profitable shrimp growing especially that there is a problem on climate change.

Some fish farmers have the wrong notion they have to use the machine 24 hours, he said.

He said from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., dissolved oxygen of fishponds is at its highest level and slowly declines later and its lowest is 4:00 a.m. to 9 or 10 a.m.  and it increases again. With this mechanically-injected oxygen, there would be 24-hour assurance of enough oxygen supply for the shrimps, he said.

There is a system being adopted now so that there would only be certain times when oxygen level is low that the power generated aerator has to work, Rosario said.

Rosario said he was introduced with this kind of aerator by an American company whose representative visited Pangasinan who wants to have a tie-up with a local fish grower for importation of shrimp products to Vietnam.

“I am not promoting the machine or its brand..We want this system to be adopted as a normal activity of a fish farmer. They are afraid to use this due to perceived high cost of electricity. But this is compensated by the volume of their production once the use the system that would offset their electricity expenses,” Rosario said.

“Before we had luxury of area (of fishponds) but some were sometimes empty. But there is now a reversed situation because there is flooding so it’s better to have small area with bigger production,” he added.

Taking advantage of the challenges

Rosario said there is a current disease problem that affects shrimps in some countries, particularly Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, China by the Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS).

Though Philippines is not affected “yet we are shrimp importer”, he said.

Thus, the Department of Agriculture-BFAR banned importation which poses problem on restaurants, he said.

Philippines also banned importation of crabs and lobsters and other crustaceans which are also possible disease carriers.

The Philippines has no EMS so we can really promote culture of shrimps because first we are importer and second we can be exporter, Rosario said. He said there is no recorded-disease yet (on EMS).

Rosario also cited bio security of culture facilities. Aerator is one of them to balance water quality for maximum growth, he said.

“Normally without aeration, you’re lucky if you produce one ton per hectare using the present system like “blind” system of culture (referring to the traditional way of growing),” Rosario said.

He said in other countries, they use only small areas to produce in great quantity, say for 2,500 square meters fishpond, they can produce 10 tons like in Vietnam and Thailand.

But they were hit by EMS so the Philippines should take advantage of the situation, he said.

But first is where to get replenishment for the import from the said countries, Rosario said.

He said infrastructure-wise, Pangasinan is ready because of the existing molecular pathology laboratory at the BFAR Center here which detects at very early stage when a shrimp is already a virus-carrier.

He said there also about nine private hatcheries availing themselves of the services of the laboratory to ensure they grow disease-free shrimp fry.

BFAR can refer interested shrimp growers to these reputable hatcheries certified free of any known diseases.

“So our only problem now is how to teach these farmers of culturing shrimps that would not be stricken with diseases and how to maximize use of their fishponds related to production,” Rosario said.