SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND TRENDS IN THE

PHILIPPINE AQUACULTURE 1/
Dr. Nelson A. Lopez
Chief, Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Division
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
2/F PCA Bldg., Elliptical Road., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Abstract
This paper discusses and illustrates the institutional changes in policies and
management of the government in the aquaculture program of the industry that leads to
technical innovations in farming practices tantamount to the bio-safety and quality of
products derived thereat for domestic and export consumption. Brief historical events in
the development of aquaculture are highlighted relevant to the social and economic
growth of the country particularly the industry stakeholders. Given emphasis is the equity
in resource use for the poor sector of the industry and the various laws, rules and
regulations implored to sustain balance in the ecological and environmental management
of the resources. Food quality and safety in aquaculture are elucidated consistent to and
compelling with the trade requirements of the importing countries. Future needs are
described and research and development directions were recommended.

Keywords: Sustainability, pro-poor, HACCP, food safety, aquaculture management,

policies, legislations, code of practice, trade and marketing

-------------------------------------------------------- Country paper presented at the FFTC-RCA International Workshop on Innovative

Technologies for Eco-friendly Fish Farm Management and Production of Safe
Aquaculture Foods held in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 04-08 December 2006

1/

I. Introduction
Over the last three decades, the global aquatic systems have been subjected to
massive pressures from fishing and other types of fishery resources exploitation with
indicative fall of the marine capture production and an evident growth in aquaculture
(FAO, 2001; Fig.1). Worldwide per capita fish consumption nearly doubled from about 8
kgs in the early 1950s to about 15.8 kgs in 1999. Fish exports from developing countries
have surpassed traditional export crops such as sugar, beverages, and meat. According to
FAO, net foreign exchange earnings from fisheries by developing countries rose from
$5.1 billion in 1985 to $16.4 billion in 1996 (FAO,1999). At present, the fisheries sector
in most developing countries continue to exhibit steady growth in production,
consumption, and trade. Technological advances in aquaculture, changes in legal and
institutional regimes, and market demands have contributed to the changing structure of
supply and demand patterns for fisheries products in both developing and developed
countries.
In the Philippines, the fisheries sector is vital to the economy in providing
substantial employment and income, contributing export earnings and meeting local
demand for the protein requirement of the populace. While there is a positive growth rate
in fisheries production from the year 2000, which is steadily increasing, the sector still
needs to maintain a delicate balance between the requirements of increased production to
contribute to food security against the need to conserve and protect the fishery resource
for long-term sustainability.
Critical are the questions of social equitability and food safety in the fisheries
industry as to who is benefiting from the resources: the rich investors using modern fish
farming technologies or the common fisherfolk relying only on the traditional low input

low output kind of farming. The bio-safety and food quality measures on the other hand,
are most often than not regarded only for those products intended for exports. The net
effect of continued growth in production and the changing structure of supply and
demand for aquatic products are unknown especially for those local and domestic
producers of farmed fishes and the poorer segment of the population who derive a
substantial amount of their food and income through participation in small-scale
production, consumption, and sale of fish.
There is, therefore, a need for a more focused, specific, and comprehensive
analyses of production, farming systems, aquaculture technologies, and markets to guide
policies and ensure benefits for the resource-poor fish farmers and the assurance of food
safety and quality. The much needed policy reforms that will support and improve
environment-friendly fisheries technologies albeit resource-poor fish farmers can help
increase their welfare through sustained production, globally competitive, and safe for
human consumption.
Addressing these pressing needs to meet the local and global demands in
aquaculture production, the Philippines over time have initiated policy and management
changes to adapt with the ever changing market demand driven trends. Owing to the long
experience from the past, the paradigm shift from resource exploitation to sustainable
production paved way in the innovative transformation of eco-friendly fish farming
technologies suited to meet the socio-economic, environmental-ecological, trade and food
safety requirements of the end-users and consumers.

II. Current Situation of Aquaculture in the Philippine Economy

Aquaculture has a long history in the Philippines, starting with the traditional, low
density culture of milkfish in ponds and evolving into more sophisticated technologybased systems for the culture of various species of fish, shrimps, mollusks and seaweeds.
Aquaculture in the Philippines, began as early as the 14th century, though its importance
was recognized only in the 1940s, when it produced about 20,000 tons (Yap, 1999). The
sector has since grown dramatically and continued to show a rapid growth during the last
decade (Figure. 2). From 1997 to 2003, fish production from aquaculture grew at an
average of 8% per year. In 2005, aquaculture production continued to improve, with the
volume of aquatic products reaching 4.16 million t (BFAR, 2006).
In terms of commodities, seaweeds contributed 70.17% to aquaculture production
in 2005, followed by milkfish (15.93%), tilapia (8.5%) and tiger shrimp (2.09%). The rest
are shared by minor commercially farmed shells and finfishes. It involves fish pens,
cages and ponds in fresh and marine waters and the mariculture of oysters, mussels and
seaweeds (Fig. 3).
The Philippines ranks amongst the top fish producing countries in the world
(FAO, 2005). In 2001, it ranked 11th with a total production of 3.17 million metric tons
of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and seaweeds. The Philippines is the second biggest
producer of seaweeds contributing to 0.7 million tons or 7.4% of world production of
10.5 million ton, second to China in the world production of tilapia and first among the
Asian producers of milkfish (Figure 4). In 2002, the fisheries industry contributed to
2.2% and 4.1% of gross domestic product in current and constant prices, respectively.
The fisheries industry provides employment to around 1 million people or 5% of
countrys labor force. Around 26% of these people are engaged in aquaculture, 68% in

municipal and small scale fisheries and 6% in commercial fisheries. Out of the total
fisheries production in 2005, aquaculture contributed highest share of 46% followed by
commercial and municipal fisheries at 27% each (Figure 5). Amongst all the fisheries
sub-sectors, aquaculture registered the highest growth rate of 8.7% in 2003 compared to
the previous year. Overall fishery sector growth in 2003 was 7.4% compared to 6.5% in
the year 2002 showing substantially higher growth rates than the Medium Term
Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP 2001-2004) targets of 4.8% and 3.2 %,
respectively. Total fishery production increased at an average annual rate of 2.5%
between 1990 and 2002. Most of this increase was brought about by large increases in
aquaculture production (more than 6% annual production increase over this period).
There have been modest increases in commercial capture fisheries (2.5% per year
increase over the period).
The aquaculture sub-sector has been identified in the MTPDP 20042010 as a
sector for increased growth for job creation and food security in support of the countrys
drive towards economic development.

This growth may be attained by increasing

production intensity as well as diversifying existing commodities and fishery farms as

well as expanding fisheries production in inland waters. With the current focus on
conservation and sustainable management of marine resources, it is possible that the
contributions of the municipal and commercial sectors to total fish production will
decline in the coming years, leaving aquaculture as the sub-sector to absorb the countrys
ever growing demand for fish and making it potentially the most important contributor to
the countrys food security and poverty alleviation agenda.
In recent years, small-scale aquaculture has been introduced in many parts of the
country, which made important contribution to income generation and employment of the

rural poor. Based on the 2000 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) of the
National Statistics Office, the highest incidence of poverty (62%) was found among the
agricultural, fishing and forestry sector. The income-generating potential created by
growing domestic demand and expanding international market for fish are most
promising opportunities for rural poverty reduction. The fisheries contribution to the
countries Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2004 is shown if Figure 6.
The sector has potential to supply products for both domestic and export markets.
However, the full development of the aquaculture sector has yet to be accomplished in
view of a variety of problems ranging from the lack of availability of high-quality brood
stock/fry/fingerlings, inadequate aquaculture training and extension, limited access of
credit by the small farmers, high input costs, data gaps, post harvest support facilities,
local and international market access constraints, lack of private sector participation, food
safety and quality constraints, lack of aquaculture information management system,
inadequate regulatory framework, lack of focused research and protocol, improvement in
aquaculture planning, zoning and environmental degradation, etc.

A. Aquaculture Structure and Production

Aquaculture in the Philippines are categorized according to environment, farming
system, farming technology and production scale (Lopez et.al, 2005).

Below is a

discussion of the different classifications of aquaculture with respect to the given

categories.
Aquaculture according to Environment
Aquaculture according to environment are classified basically in terms of water
type or source categorized into freshwater, brackishwater and mariculture (Table 1).

Freshwater aquaculture utilize the major lakes, rivers, reservoirs, dams, small-water
impoundments, catch basins, rice paddies, and land-based ponds.

Brackishwater

aquaculture utilize inter-tidal zones, mangrove swamps and estuarine areas. Mariculture
utilise coastal waters.
Aquaculture according to Farming System
The farming system varies according to the cultured commodity species and the
water source. Freshwater species commonly cultured are tilapia, carp, catfish,
snakeheads, the euryhaline milkfish and most recently, the freshwater prawn. Ornamental
aquarium fish production also falls under this farming category. Farming system varies
from fish corrals/pens, fish tanks, fish cages, earthen ponds to hapa net in ponds for
hatchery ( Table 2).
Mangrove swamp areas along the intertidal zone occupies a huge converted
portions into brackishwater fishponds in the Philippines which draws most of the water
source both from the sea and rivers The most dominant fish cultured in brackishwater are
milkfish and shrimp. Mudcrab and grouper were recently introduced in commercial scale
to maximize utilization of the ponds. Aqua-silviculture and fishpen farming system are
also done.
Seawater-based farming is mainly categorized into three commodity sectors:
shellfish culture, finfish farming and the seaweed culture. Shellfishes such as oysters and
mussels are normally grown by stake or hanging methods using bamboo poles and ropes
same with the seaweed farming except that the latter utilizes different plot design.
Finfishes on the other hand are mostly reared in fixed pen enclosures and floating net
cages.

Aquaculture according to Farming Technology

Aquaculture according to farming technology is basically mono-culture based
regardless of water source and farming system for the various species cultured. However,
polyculture also occurs in freshwater environment (Table 3).
Aquaculture according to Production Scale
Aquaculture according to production scale can be classified as intensive, semiintensive and extensive production depending on stocking density of fish frys and amount
of feeds given to the fish (Table 4).
Philippine aquaculture has strong potential for further expansion and development
in view of the availability of vast resources: 338,393 ha of swampland, 14,531 ha of
freshwater fishponds, 239,323 ha of brackishwater fishponds, 200,000 ha of lakes, 31,000
ha of rivers and 19,000 ha of reservoirs. The 2005 aquaculture production by culture
system and environment are summarized in Table 5.
Philippine aquaculture statistics indicate culture of 18 species, of which 8 species
besides seaweeds contribute substantially to the total production (Table 6). The major
commodities are seaweed, milkfish, tilapia, shrimp, mussel, carp, catfish, mudcrab and
oyster. In addition, there are some other commodities such as crab, siganids, grouper,
seabass, etc., that hold potential for development. In 2004, seaweed contributed the most
to the aquaculture production in terms of volume (70% ), but 11.7% in terms of value.
In summary, there exists some forty one (41) known fish farming techniques
which is traditionally and currently being practiced in the country from small to medium
scale of investments up to the commercial intensive and modern aquaculture technology.

B. Major Production Organizations

At present there four strong group of national organizations representing the

major commercial commodities produced from the aquaculture industry. The Bangus
Council of the Philippines (BCP) which is a recent alliance of the Bangus Association of
the Philippines represents the coalition of eight major stakeholders of milkfish producers
in the country composed of the hatchery subsector, fry gatherers and

importers,

freshwater fishpen producers, mariculture subsector, brackishwater subsector, feed

millers/suppliers subsector and the processing subsector.
The tilapia sector on the other hand has organized themselves into one association
known as the Philippine Tilapia, Incorporated (PTI) mostly composed of small-medium
and large-scale producers of tilapia including the hatchery and post-harvest processing
sectors. Among the major coalition members in the association is the GIFT Foundation
and the GENOMAR producers together with the GET-Excel BFAR accredited operators.
The tiger shrimp producers in the country has on its own the PHILSHRIMP
allied with the SHRIMPEX and PHILFRY respectively representing the monodon growout farm producers, the shrimp exporters and the fry hatchery operators. On the seaweeds
commodity counterpart, the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) has
organized themselves into a farm-producers group, the traders subsector and the
processors who are also the major exporters of the Philippine Natural Grade (PNG)
carageenan products.

C. Government Organizations and Support Services for Aquaculture

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as lead fisheries agency
in the Philippine government has a general mandate to protect, conserve and sustain the
management of the countrys fishery and aquatic resources (RA 8550, 1998). It is also
tasks to optimally utilize the off-shore and deep-sea resources and upgrade post-harvest
technology. Its social and economic commitment is to alleviate poverty and provide
supplementary livelihood among municipal fisherfolk while the assurance of an improve
productivity in the aquaculture industry is within the ecological limits. BFAR vision is
a modernized fisheries that is technologically advanced and globally competitive and
whose transformation is guided by sound management practices of resource
sustainability, the principle of sound social justice, and strong private sector
participation.
Although there are numerous Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and People
Organization (POs) in the Philippines, their contribution to aquaculture development has
been minimal. However, the field provides more areas for their involvement especially
now that there is an increasing pressure on the government and civil society to play an
active role on poverty alleviation in rural areas. There are three points in which the
fishing and aquaculture industries should meet to further develop the industry, which are:

Improvement and development of export markets to be globally

competitive;

Observance of best aquaculture practices (BAPs) following HACCP

system principles (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point);

Regulation and monitoring of domestic market products to prevent

production glut and flooding of the market, competition among producers
and traders, and price destabilization
To comply with the above requirements for both domestic and export market and

to further improve the product quality from the farm level, there is a need to strengthen
the extension services and research capability of the of the government and other
support services for the aquaculture industry. At present, the extension services in
aquaculture are carried-out by three distinct service institutions which includes the Local
Government Units (LGUs) through its Agriculture Technicians (ATs), the BFAR
aquaculture technicians and the various fisheries academic institutions nationwide.
Research and development on the other hand are handled by several fisheries
agencies, institutions and the academes under a national aquaculture research network
coordinated by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI)
which is the research arm of BFAR.
In support to the government, there are international and regional institutions and
organizations who are committed to serve industrys development in aquaculture. In
November 2002, a Regional Donor Consultation on the Role of Aquaculture and Living
Aquatic Resources: Prioritizing Support and Networking was held in Manila and
attended by well-known international and regional institutions and donors, such as the
WorldFish Center, UNDP, FAO, Mekong River Commission, SEAFDEC, Network of
Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific, Australian Center for International Agricultural
Research, ADB, United States Agency for International Development, Australian Agency
for International Development, Japan International Cooperation Agency, European
Union, Directorate General for international Cooperation (DGCI) of Belgium, Deutsche

Gesselschaft Fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), and Norwegian Agency for

Development Cooperation (NORAD). The following priorities were identified during the
consultation:

Productivity of smallholder livestock and aquaculture

Techno-policies for fishery product quality and food security requirements

Development of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture systems

Consolidation of available research knowledge for use of smallholders,

extension workers and educators

Policy-making awareness

Access to rural credit

Governance issues in inland fisheries/access to water resources

Assessing impacts of projects against some poverty indicators

Demand-Supply prioritizing pro-poor projects

Majority of the above issues are now presently addressed through specific projects with
the government in collaboration with the industry stakeholders.

D. Legal Framework for Aquaculture

Aquaculture in the Philippines are governed by three major laws of the land: the
Republic Act (RA) 8550 (Fisheries Code of 1998), RA 7160 (Local Government Code of
1991) and RA 8435 (Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997). These major
laws are intricating and often results to conflicts of interpretation and implementation by
the agencies concerned mostly affecting the stakeholders. While the laws itself addresses
to particular concerns of the sectors in the aquaculture industry, several provisions and

implementing guidelines within the context of each law are either interpreted as a
duplications or contradictory with each other.
The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (RA 8550) highlights conservation,
protection and sustained management of fishery and aquatic resources, poverty
alleviation and provision of supplementary livelihood, improvement of aquaculture
productivity, optimal utilization of offshore and deep-sea resources, and upgrading of
post-harvest technology, It is primarily intended for management and utilization of
fishery resources by Filipinos, that is, toward maintenance and sustainability of the
resources and their productivity for local use and consumption.

It is only partly

concerned with industrialization or modernization, and concentrates on the establishment

of a regulatory and administrative structure for the sector.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 (AFMA) on the other
hand is geared toward industrialization and full employment based on sound agricultural
development and agrarian reform and promotes the utilization of national resources in
the most efficient and sustainable way possible by establishing more equitable access to
assets, income, basic support services and infrastructure,.

It is directed toward the

modernization of the fisheries sector by transforming it into a technology-based industry

with a high degree of horizontal and vertical integration and able to compete in the global
market by producing more and better value-added products.
While the Fisheries Code and AFMA hold in priority the attainment of food
security, rational use of resources, and sustainable development, the Local Government
Code of 1991 is primarily aimed at devolving the legislative powers of national
government in favour of the local cities and municipalities who administers and do the

actual management of their own resources. The LGU code is designed to implement
national laws and regulations at the local levels by virtue of ordinances. They were also
granted the licensing jurisdiction granted them over all fishery privileges within their
territorial jurisdiction, particularly in cases of aquaculture with the use of fish pens,
cages, traps, and other structures for the culture of fish and other fishery products.
In addition and corollary with the above mentioned laws, there are other national
related laws enacted by regulatory agencies affecting the aquaculture policy governance,
such as the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) RA 7586 of 1992 by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

All other

implementable laws and regulations governing the Fisheries Code of the Philippines are
expressed in a series of Fisheries Administrative Orders (FAOs) duly promulgated by
BFAR as lead fisheries regulatory agency of the government .

III. Technological Developments in Farm Management and Production of Safe

Aquaculture Foods
A. The Mariculture Parks and Hi-ways
The Philippines as an archipelagic country endowed with a vast potential of coastal
marine resources has recently drawn a resource map establishing potential areas for
mariculture development along the Pacific and China Sea side boarders. The concept of
having a landmark of development in mariculture has a two-tier objective in meeting the
countrys domestic market requirements by way of providing access of marine
commercially farmed products from source to major capital cities linking the market
through

maritime routes providing the transshipments of primary production and

ancillary services (i.e. feeds, refrigeration, fresh and processed products, etc.) to and from
the production source to market.
The other purpose of mapping the mariculture hi-ways is to link easy access of the
products to neighboring countries along the west mainland provinces of China and on the
northwestern regions of Hongkong and Taiwan and the south-southwestern Asian regions
of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. These countries are notably importing countries
of live, processed and frozen aqua-farmed products from the Philippines where trade in
aquaculture has been traditionally established.
Complementing the Mariculture Hi-ways in the Philippines are established
Mariculture Parks where breeding and grow-out production of commercially important
species are grown in zonified marine cages. Mariculture Parks are in concept the same as
the land-based industrial state in land areas where raw lands are made accessible by
putting up the basic infrastructure such as roads, power, water, communications and other
basic facilities to spare interested entrepreneurs the high cost of land acquisition and
preparation. Instead, it only has to pay for an annual lease which amount is only a
fraction of what it would have cost to acquire and develop raw lands for its use. This
project was in principle established with the concept that if such infrastructure can be
established on land for entrepreneurs and large companies, then there is even more reason
to provide similar infrastructure for the poor, small fishers and other investors in
demarcated zones of municipal waters.
At present, there are eleven (11) well established and operational mariculture
parks all over the country catering to local, national and foreign investors. These are
mostly engaged in milkfish and other variety of farming highly commercial valued
species such as groupers, siganids , cavallas, etc.

B. Technological Developments in Production of Safe Aquaculture Foods

The Philippines as a matter of policy, follows a general rules in complying with
both the domestic and foreign product requirements in terms of quality and bio-safety
procedures which are outlined and prescribed in guidelines under the Fisheries
Administrative Order (FAO) No. 214, otherwise known as the Code of Practice for
Aquaculture. The Code lays down the generic guidelines in adapting the Best
Aquaculture Practices (BAPs) in the country which also serves as reference point to
Total Quality Management (TQM) in aquaculture farming practices. The BAPs concept
as provided for in this Code of Practice was equivocally and derived mainly from the
provisions of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries as interpreted and
unanimously adapted under the Regional Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
(RCCRF in Aquaculture) by the SEAFDEC member countries in 2002 (FAO,
1999/1999b).
Implementation of this code in the local industry, however, takes a hard time due
to arbitrary issues and claims that the code is equitably designed for pro-poor but for
those commercial operators who are engaged in the export trade who could afford to redesign and meet the international demand of the industrialized countries, in a way as
what is required in the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) in fishery
products has become a compulsory commitment of the country. These present standards
in aquaculture are even oftenly treated by the local operators and fishery product
exporters as a trade barriers (NACA, 2003).
Since HACCP has been implored not only by the federal states of the US but also
by the EU communities, Japan and other importing industrialized countries, apart from

the Philippines being a signatory to the GATT-WTO agreements, the country has nothing
left but to abide by the FAO Codex guidelines in adopting both the CCRF and its latest
provisions in observing the Aquaculture HACCP guidelines in fisheries (FAO, 2004).
This turn out of events leads to the improvement of fishery products handling and
processing to address food safety and quality assurance in the post-harvest sector which
recently passed the current regular inspection conducted by the European CommissionFisheries Veterinary Officer (EC-FVO) Mission in the country.
To promote the HACCP system in the fish farming level of production which
contributes some 30-40% of the export commodities in fisheries in the Philippines, the
BFAR has launched similar program to the post-harvest sector in capacity building by reintroducing the BAPs as an essential tool to observance and adopting the HACCP in
aquaculture approach, quite different from the post-harvest procedures but the same in
principles. This is because HACCP in aquaculture has to be treated differently by
commodity species of the farmed products, its management and the production inputs
which are the keys to identify the most critical control points (CCPs) so as to produce a
quality and safe products from aquaculture (Lopez, 2004).
The HACCP program in aquaculture in the Philippines constitute mainly of the
National Residue Monitoring Program and most recently the information and education
campaign (IEC) conducted to fisheries technicians, planning officers, aquaculture centers,
extension officers and health/quarantine officers as prospective farm inspectors. This
program aims in a bid to comply not only as trade requirements with the FAO/WTO, but
as a measure of preparedness and compliance for BFAR being recognized as a competent
authority (CA) by the European Commission (EC).

Other than the CCRF and HACCP in aquaculture, the Philippines is also a
signatory with an active participation to the Quarantine International de Epizootics (QIE)
agreements which restricts through a proper screening the inflow-outflow of domestic
endemic species and imported live species for aquaculture use.

C. Successful Cases of Technology Utilization and Adoption in Fish Farms

To address the ever-growing poverty alleviations, hunger and malnutrition issues
of the rural fisherfolks in the fish faming and fishing communities, the government has
also shifted its policy program focused from aquaculture development to aquaculture for
rural development giving emphasis on identifying projects in aquaculture which are
dubbed as pro-poor (Lopez, 2005b) and promoting livelihood projects to rural
communities which are low in investments, less in inputs with high yields of productivity
in terms of the resources utilized. Among these projects are the aquisilviculture in the
mangrove protected areas, skyponds in the upland areas and the ornamental fish breeding
and hatcheries in backyards, Small Water Impounding Project (SWIP) in inland areas and
the family enterprise seaweeds nursery-grow-out projects in coastal marine waters
Also in order to maximize the use of unutilized parcel of idled lands in the cities
and municipalities, the BFAR launched the Urban Aquaculture Program consisting
mostly of elevated tanks set-up in communities, stocked with GET-Excel tilapia, catfish
and other marketable freshwater species.
One of the most recent but controversial technology adoption that was lately
introduced in the country is the entry of Penaeus. vannamei which has drawn criticisms
in the farming community due to its acceptability, but was well screened through the
Import Risk Analysis (IRA) process. The introduction of this species which followed

mostly the trend and experience of other Asian countries passed the most stringent
importation procedures, observance of international and regional protocols, local
quarantine

and

health screening, series of public consultations, and research and

development (R&Ds) to successfully breed and grow the individual under domestic
conditions to produce an Specific Pathogen Free and Specific Pathogen Resistance
(SPF and SPR) strains intended for local and export markets. To date, the acquisitions of
the broodstock, seedlings, and the hatchery, nursery,

grow-out management on its

commercial production are guided by a specific fish farming protocols.

III. Emerging Needs and Future Directions

Among the priority thrusts that the aquaculture sector needs to be addressed by
the government are:
1. Aquaculture HACCP standard requirements of importing countries which were
not only found to be too much stringent and costly for an ordinary fish farmer to
comply but that the standards imposed to farm level management kept on
changing over time. HACCP in aquaculture is a new process with an old principle
but that the way it has to be implemented as far better more complicated than
what is now being imposed in the post-harvest HACCP system. It does not only
simply start with the traceability in the maximum residual limits (MRL) but has to
follow traceabilities in the feeds and other farm inputs administered from the
hatchery to the grow-out period, the quality of seeds and stocks which should be
SPF/SPR and disease free, properly eco-labeled and following certification and
accreditation procedures based on existing BAPs guidelines;

2. Environmental Management of Aquaculture Resources which is a key to

mitigating the continuous degradation and self-pollution of the farmed resources
resulting to massive fish kills of cultured species affecting both the quality of the
farmed fishes and the production areas;
3. Pro-poor Aquaculture and Sustainability in order to provide more jobs and avoid
migrations of the poor sector of the industry and to sustain the balance of resource
exploitation in traditionally farmed areas, there is a need to address poverty
alleviation and sustainability in equal manner as credit facilities and carrying
capacities;
4. Hatchery Development and Commercial Production of High-value Species is a
step forward to augment scarcities and assurance of continuous production of
quality seed supply rather than relying to the wild stocks. Development of
hatchery technologies is in fact an indicator of a progressive aquaculture
development in commercial scale operation. Targeting high-valued species as
Taiwan and Indonesia are currently engaged in is one factor in aquaculture that
has to be addressed to support commercialization and aquaculture product line
enterprising; and
5. The increasing cost of production and farm inputs are among the current and
perennial issues in all forms of aquaculture practices besetting the industry.
Compared to the production cost in Thailand, Taiwan and other Asian aquaculture
producing countries, the Philippines has the highest ratio of cost of inputs versus
the product outputs in its farm gate price.
The emerging issues as above elucidated are the focus of future interventions as
expected to be addressed by the present aquaculture strategic studies under the ADB

technical assistance (ADTA, 2006), and as further drafted in the proposed

Comprehensive National Fisheries Integrated Development Plan (CNFIDP) for the next
ten (10) years (BFAR, 2005) as follows:

Research and development in aquaculture centered on polyculture and

production of hatchery bred high value-species;

Institutional management, policy and economic studies;

Review and amendments to the Fisheries Code and relevant Fisheries

Administrative Orders;

Involvement and governance of the Local Government Units;

Strengthening capability building

and Information and Educational

Campaign (IEC) thru training and extension;

Adherence to the code of practice for responsible aquaculture;

More jobs generated (forward and backward support services)

Observance to aquaculture HACCP on food safety and quality.

SUMMARY
The aquaculture sector is a fast growing industry in the Philippines which is
projected to led the overall fisheries production in the next decades with an average
growth increment of 7.6% annually. While aquaculture production in the country are not
all intended for the export market, products for domestic consumption are also subject to
HACCP food safety and quality standards. Just as the resources for aquaculture are
intended not only for commercial producers, equity in the utilization of water resources
are also prioritized to the poor sector of the industry. Policy and institutional changes
necessitates a long term agenda which are confined both at the CNFIDP and MTPDP.

REFERENCES:
BFAR, 1998. The Philippine Fisheries Code. Republic Act No. 8550 (1998)
BFAR, 2001. Code of Practice for Aquaculture. Fisheries Administrative Order No. 214
BFAR. 2004. Philippine Fisheries Profile, Department of Agriculture, Quezon City,
Philippines. 62p.
BFAR. 2005. Comprehensive National Fisheries Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP).
Draft version.
BFAR. 2006. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources: Overview. Paper
presented at the WorldFish Center and Philippine Partners meeting. Quezon City,
Philippines.28 February 2006.
DA, 1997. The Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act. Republic Act No. 8435
DENR, 1992. The National Integrated Protected Areas System Act. Republic Act
No. 7586 (1992).
DENR, 2004. The Clean Water Act. Republic Act No. 9275 (2004)
Dey, M.M., Rab, M.A., Jahan, K.M., Nisapa, A., Kumar, A., and Ahmed, M. (2005b).
Food Safety Standards and Regulatory Measures: Implications for selected fish
exporting Asian countries. Aquaculture Economics & Management, 9:217-236,
2005.
DILG, 1991. The Local Government Code. Republic Act No. 7160 (1991)
FAO. 1995. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. FAO: Rome
FAO. 1999a. The Rome Declaration on the Implementation of the Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries. Online http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/X@@@0E00.HTM
Date accessed: August 26,2006 at p.2
FAO. 1999b. Rural Aquaculture in the Philippines. RAP Publication 1999/20. FAO:
Bangkok, Thailand.
FAO. 1999c. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture. FAO COFI:FT/IV/93/3.
FAO Fisheries Department, Rome.
FAO. 2001. Review of the State of World Fishery Resources: Inland Fisheries. Fisheries
Circular No. 942, Rev.1.Data are available at:
http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/FISOFT/FISHPLUS.asp#DownloadData
FAO. 2005. FAO Statistical Databases. On-line database: http://faostat.fao.org/.

FAO. 2006. National aquaculture legislation overview: Philippines [available at:

http://www.fao.org/figis/servlet/static, 15 February 2006]
Garcia, Y.T., M.M. Dey, and R.L. Tan (eds.). 2005a. Sustaining Fisheries and
Aquaculture Production to Benefit Poor Households in the Philippines. ADBWorldFish Publ. 311p
Lopez, N.A. 1995. Philippines. In: FAO/NACA. Regional Study and Workshop on the
Environmental Assessment and Management of Aquaculture Development
(TCP/RAS/2253). NACA Environment and Aquaculture Development Series No.
1. Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.
Lopez, N.A., 2004. Status of HACCP in Aquaculture Implementation in the
Philippines, country paper presented at the FAO-INFOFISH Regional Workshop
on HACCP in Aquaculture held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3-8 December 2004.
Lopez, N., J. O. Dickson and R.V. Ramiscal. 2005a. Trends and patterns in Philippine
Fisheries. In: Y.T. Garcia, M.M. Dey, and R.L. Tan (Editors). Sustaining Fisheries
and Aquaculture Production to Benefit Poor Households in the Philippines. 311p.
Lopez, N.A., 2005b. Prioritizing Pro-Poor Aquaculture Technologies for Rural
Development in Selected Regions of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources in the Philippines. ISCOF-DFT Dissertation. 178 pp.
Yap, W.G. 1999. Rural Aquaculture in the Philippines. FAO RAP Publication 1999/20.

APPENDIX A. Lists of Figures

Inland Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture with Marine Capture Fisheries 1950-2001
100

90
50
80
Aquaculture
Inland Capture
70

Marine Capture

40

60

30

50

40
20
30

20
10
10

20
00

19
95

19
90

19
85

19
80

19
75

19
65

19
60

19
55

19
70

19
50

Figure 1. FAO statistics on the comparative production from Inland, Aquaculture and Marine
fisheries (1950-2001)

Figure 2: Growth of Aquaculture in the P hilippines

(From Lopez et al., 2005; BFAR, 2006)

2,000
1,800
1,600
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200

Year

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

0
1993

'000 Tons

1,400

Marine Capture (million tonnes)

Inland Capture and Aquaculture Production (million tonnes)

60

Quantity

2.2%

1.8%

1.4%

8.5%

Aquatic Plants
Milkfish
Tilapia
Shrimps/prawns
Oysters/Mussels
Other species

15.9%

70.2%

Figure 3: Percent Share of Major Species Produced from Aquaculture, 2004

Brackishwater

Freshwater

Marine

300,000

Quantity (MT)

250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000

19
76
19
78
19
80
19
82
19
84
19
86
19
88
19
90
19
92
19
94
19
96
19
98
20
00
20
02
20
04

Figure 4: Production of milkfish(Chanos chanos), Philippines, 1976 to 2004

(FAO Fishstat Plus 2006, DA-BAS, 2006

27%

46%

Commercial
Municipal
Aquaculture

27%

Figure 5: Share of Production by Subsector, 2005 (from BFAR, 2006)

FISHERIES CONTRIBUTION TO
GROSS VALUE ADDED (GVA) CY 2004

AT CURRENT PRICES
(P M) P 225,483
Fishery,
48,714,
21.6%

Forestry,
1,115,
0.5%

Agricultural
crops,
113,871,
50.5%

Agricultural
Activities,
9,459,
4.2%
Poultry,
25,052,
11.1%
Livestock,
27,272,
12.1%

Figure 6. Fisheries contribution to gross value added (GVA) CY 2004

APPENDIX B. List of Tables

Table 1. List of aquaculture according to environment.

Freshwater
Lakes
Reservoir
Dams
Rivers
Streams
Creeks
Ponds
Swamps

Brackishwater
Inter-tidal flats
Mangrove swamps
Estuarine areas

Mariculture
Shallow Coastal
Deep Coastal

Table 2. List of aquaculture according to farming system

Freshwater
Freshwater Hatcheries
Earthen Ponds
Fish Pen
Floating Net Cages
Concrete Tanks
Integrated Fish Farming
Ornamental Fish Production

Brackishwater
Aqua-Silviculture
Earthen Ponds
Fish Pen

Mariculture
Marine Hatcheries
Floating Net Cages
Fish Pen
Mussel/Oyster Beds
Seaweeds Farm
Ornamental Fish Production

Table 3. List of aquaculture according to farming technology

Freshwater
Mono-culture in pond/cage
Poly-culture in pond/cage
Mono-culture in pen

Brackishwater
Mono-culture in pen
Mono-culture in pond
Poly-culture in pond

Mariculture
Mono-culture in pen/cage
Poly-culture in cage

Table 4. List of aquaculture according to production scale

Freshwater
Intensive
Semi-intensive
Extensive

Brackishwater
Intensive
Semi-intensive
Extensive

Mariculture
Intensive
Semi-intensive
Extensive

Table 5. Philippine aquaculture production by culture

system and environment, 2004. (DA-BAS, 2005)

Fishpond
Fishpen
Fishcage
Sub-Total
Oyster
Mussel
Seaweed
Grand Total

Freshwater Brackishwater Marine

Total
75,484.37
253,848.52
329,332.89
49,994.61
4,499.50
54,494.11
55,396.10
4,205.71
23,542.36
83,144.17
466,971.17
15,914.73
15,914.73
15,038.22
15,038.22
1,204,807.56 1,204,807.56
180,875.08
262,553.73 1,259,302.87 1,702,731.68

Table 6. Philippine Aquaculture Production By Species, 2004 ranked

according to Quantity (DA-BAS, 2005)
Quantity
Species
ALL
SPECIES
Aquatic
Plants
Milkfish
Tilapia
Tiger Prawn
Mussel
Oyster
Carp
Mud Crab
Other
Species
Catfish
White Shrimp
Grouper
Siganid

Value

Volume (mt) Percent of Total

1,717,026
100.00%

Amount Percent of
('000 P)
Total
44,822,257 100.00%

1,204,808

70.17%

5,261,401

11.74%

273,593
145,868
35,917
15,038
15,915
13,724
6,245
2,129

15.93%
8.50%
2.09%
0.88%
0.93%
0.80%
0.36%
0.12%

16,238,558
7,734,562
12,854,974
88,849
111,038
344,396
1,590,523
239,714

36.23%
17.26%
28.68%
0.20%
0.25%
0.77%
3.55%
0.53%

1,930
1,471
220
169

0.11%
0.09%
0.01%
0.01%

114,712
145,028
77,301
21,201

0.26%
0.32%
0.17%
0.05%