BAR TODAY || Official Quarterly Publication of the Bureau of Agricultural Research

Sustainability of aquaculture
by Maria Rowena Briones

April-June 2002
Volume 4 No. 2

A big fish is a big deal, especially if you can harvest thousands of them. Aquaculture is the farming and husbandry of aquatic animals and plants to earn profit. It increases the production of fish and other useful food stuffs far above the level that can be produced naturally.

Most of the world's aquaculture is in Asia. Alarmingly, coastal and inland resources in developing countries in the Southeast are under stress due to destructive production and harvesting practices and lack of alternative economic options for the fishers and other coastal inhabitants.

Aquaculture in the Philippines
In the Philippines, the coastal and marine ecosystem is considered an important source of livelihood for 70 percent of the country's municipalities. Being an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, mangroves are vital part of the Philippine environment. They protect the coastline from erosion, filter out silt that would have choked the coral reefs, provide spawning grounds for fish, and nesting areas for birds and animals.

Disturbingly, the number of hectares of mangroves in the Philippines has gone from 450,000 at the beginning of the century to less than 150,000 today. One of the reasons of the loss of these mangroves is their conversion for milkfish and shrimp aquaculture.

Aquaculture in the Philippines used to be dominated by brackish water fishponds with milkfish as the predominant species but today, aside from milkfish, there are at least eight species-- prawns, tilapia, mud crab, white shrimp, grouper, siganid, carp and mudfish-- that are being cultured under different farming systems in brackish water fishpond; freshwater fishpond; freshwater and marine fish pens and cages; aqua-silviculture (mud crab culture in mangrove pens) and the mariculture of oysters, mussel and seaweed.

As an economic activity, it helps us attain food security through the provision of protein sources for the population, employment and sources of income for the people especially in the rural areas. The large quantities of marine products we export give us high foreign exchange earnings.

However, its expansion had been causing pollution, disease outbreaks, destruction of mangroves and resource- use conflicts. These negative effects could have been alleviated, if not avoided, if there is proper planning, site selection and management of its long-term effects to the environment.

What research can do
The National Research, Development and Extension Network for Aquaculture, with Dr. Crispino Saclauso as the national team leader, affirms that the growth of the aquaculture industry (in freshwater, brackish water and marine) depends foremost on the sustainable and responsible management of its productive resources.

Aquaculture is not just raising fish, it is also realizing the dreams of the fisher folk. The small and medium aquaculturists need institutional and infrastructure support in their operations so that they can compete with the ones who have big capital.

The core technical team of the network adds that the socio economic context where aquaculture is introduced is oftentimes the last consideration in many development activities, thus the culture, perceptions, knowledge, experiences, economic situations and other characteristics of recipient communities are overlooked.

These and the weak linkages between research and its clients partly explain the lack of relevance and the poor quality of the technologies produced by the national research system. With the threat of environmental degradation and the issues on concessions of the local government units for big operators, the economic and environmental impacts of existing policies, regulations, laws and practices on aquaculture need to be scrutinized.

The agenda and program of research and development activities in aquaculture for the next three years will focus on three major thrusts: improvement of aquaculture systems; expansion of aquaculture options; and reduction of the environmental impacts of aquaculture operations.

The participating institutions implementing these programs are: Institute of Aquaculture-College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences-University of the Philippines-Visayas; Marine Science Institute-University of the Philippines-Diliman; Freshwater Aquaculture Center-Central Luzon State University; Mindanao State University at Naawan; and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. This does not however preclude other institutions from implementing programs and projects that are within the identified priorities of the network.

The network claims that the program is an integrated approach with multidimensional components designed to meet the needs of the fisherfolk and address the long-term goals of sustainable development of the fisheries sector and the reduction of poverty among municipal fisherfolk.

Last 2000, the network started projects that are identified as "high impact.". Mindanao State University is refining the Siganid hatchery and UP Visayas is developing sustainable techniques for prawn farming in mangroves. The UP Marine Science Institute is conducting studies on seaweeds diseases, environmental quality criteria for mariculture sites and sustainable milkfish production. Results of these projects will be available next year.

Not just research, also management
Dr. Susana Siar of the Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, in her paper on resource use in aquaculture, highlights the context in which research and development activities operate. According to her, there is competition in the use of space and water resources at the local level.

"To address the needs and interests of different users and stakeholders, and to avoid resource use conflicts, aquaculture should be placed within the context of coastal resource use management," Dr. Siar pointed out.

And coastal resource management would mean empowerment of the fisherfolk themselves so they can be organized and they can participate in ensuring that the local government enforces fishery laws and regulations.

Research activities will be put to waste if resources upon which aquaculture depends, such as shore waters, fresh water bodies, mangroves, lakes, rivers, reservoirs and agricultural land, are already degraded and therefore, useless.

Ultimately, the sustainability of aquaculture depends on the capability of national and local government agencies and the cooperation of resource users to regulate the use of land and water resources.

Sources: "Whose Water? Whose Space?: Issues on Resource Use in Aquaculture" Paper presented in the 14th Agri- Policy Forum on Socio- Economic and Policy Issues in the Aquaculture sector held last May 6, 2002 at National Economic Development Authority, Makati City Philippines by Dr. Susana Siar; National Integrated Research Development and Extension Agenda and Program for Aquaculture (1999-2004); Collier's Encyclopedia Vol. 2 Mac Millan Education Co. NY USA 1991.