World Aquaculture - December 2014

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14 DECEMBER 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE •
Recently completed research in Dagupan on saline tilapia
called “mollibicus,” which can be reared in coastal areas, proves
to be promising in the face of increasingly frequent fishkills in
brackishwater environments (The Fish Site 2014a). These studies
can help provide preparatory and mitigation measures that can
ultimately cushion the impacts of climate change on food supply and
livelihood of fisherfolk communities.
Institutional factors. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR) is the leading fishery organization in the
Philippine government that has a mandate under the Republic Act
(RA) 8550 of 1998 to conserve, protect and use fishery and aquatic
resources sustainably, alleviate poverty and provide supplementary
livelihoods for Filipinos (Lopez 2006). Other research organizations
include the Aquaculture Department of Southeast Asian Fisheries
Development Center (SEAFDEC/AQD), Worldfish Center, Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), among others (Lopez 2006).
At present, fisheries researchers have been collaborating with
private sector fish farmers and policy makers from the national
and local government through forums on enforcing limits on
aquaculture operations and other environmental concerns (BFAR
2010b). This is to ensure the fair allocation of coastal resources;
otherwise externalities (indirect costs to aquaculture) are incurred.
Externalities include reduction in natural fish productivity and
increased vulnerability to natural disasters, such as typhoons and
tsunamis, resulting in loss of natural coastal protection (as provided
by mangroves).
Government institutions are also strongly encouraged to
mobilize funds for the benefit of fish farmers. For example, the
Quezon provincial state government has been providing free
materials for milkfish cage construction, such as bamboo poles,
nets, ropes and fingerlings to fishermen, thereby paving the way
for aquaculture development in the region (The Fish Site 2013b).
Similarly, BFAR has allocated US$ 737,000 to the local government
of Cebu to help rehabilitate fish cages, seaweed farms, fish pens and
coral reefs damaged by Typhoon Yolanda (The Fish Site 2014b). As
the country has been facing shortages in the supply of seaweed, the
Mud crab rearing tanks at Institute of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries and Ocean
Sciences, University of the Philippines-Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines.
Photo by J.A. Ragaza.
Rotifer culture, as feed for fish larvae at Institute of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries and
Ocean Sciences, University of the Philippines-Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines. Photo
by J.A. Ragaza.
If aquaculture is aimed toward positive development, sustainability
programs must integrate the following factors: technical (feeding
practices, aeration, broodstock quality); physical (temperature,
salinity); institutional (legislation, externalities); and socioeconomic
(poverty, farmers’ management abilities) (Bergquist 2007).
Technical factors. The search for potential plant-based proteins,
including water hyacinth and white cowpea as alternatives for
fishmeal in aquafeeds, has gained importance to reduce dependence
on depleted marine fish stocks (SEAFDEC/AQD 2008). This also
calls for a shift toward cultivating herbivorous and omnivorous
fishes, such as milkfish, tilapia and catfish.
Studies have also been conducted that aim to improve the
living standards of fish farmers and consumers, provide avenues
for employment and ensure food security throughout the country.
These include the genetic improvement of tilapia and, more recently,
the project of identifying tilapia “super strains” (Worldfish 2013),
improving technologies for breeding new aquaculture species of
high economic value, such as snubnose pompano Trachinotus
blochii, scat Scatophagus argus and Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus
undulatus, among others (SEAFDEC/AQD 2010).
Innovative studies for resource enhancement to increase
species stocks also have helped sustain the aquaculture industry.
Low survival of seahorses Hippocampus comes in hatcheries has
been a problem until the recent discovery of disinfecting its live food
(copepods) with low doses of disinfecting chemicals in Guimaras,
West Central Visayas. This technique has increased seahorse
survival, which could enable mass production and consequently
rehabilitation of depleted stocks (SEAFDEC/AQD 2014).
Physical factors. Studies on how climate change can affect
the aquaculture industry have been conducted to aid fish farmers
in adapting to this change. For example, effects of elevated water
temperatures and acidity on performance of important cultured
fishes, such as milkfish and seabass, have been assessed. Search and
identification of species that can be used for integrated multi-trophic
aquaculture (IMTA), an approach that promotes waste management
and minimizes environmental impacts of aquaculture, is also being
examined (SEAFDFEC/AQD 2011).