Ten are now fully operational, while the others are in various stages of development, according to Nelson Lopez, chief of the Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR).
Lopez said most commonly raised in fish cages in the mariculture parks are milkfish and grouper (lapu-lapu). Other marine species of commercial value are also being grown.
The innovative fish production system has been contributing considerably to the provision of food of fish origin and livelihood opportunities in the places where the mariculture parks/zones are operating.
The first mariculture park demonstration and training project in the country was set up at Igang Bay in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, in 2001 jointly by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC AQD), DA-BFAR, and the Guimaras provincial government.
The first commercial mariculture park was subsequently established off Samal Island (just across Davao City). The park currently has 11 multi-cage setups and three BFAR demonstration cages.
Also now fully operational is the Sto. Tomas (La Union) mariculture zone, which has 11 investors at present.
Three are now in business in Samar: in Calbayog City, with 300 hectares covered; Sta. Rita, 500 ha; Basey, 400 ha; and San Jose, 315 ha.
In Leyte, the maricuture parks/zones in Ormoc City have 600 ha; in Merida, 100 ha; and in Babatngon, a still undetermined area.
Liloan in Southern Leyte has 75 ha.
Others in various phases of development are the mariculture parks at Masinloc-Palauig in Zambales; Mabayo Cove and Silangan Bay, Bataan; Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro; Honda Bay, Palawan; and Ragay Gulf, Camarines Sur.
The mariculture parks and zones have been emplaced primarily by the private sector with the technical assistance of DAR-BAR, currently headed by Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr., and the government-hosted, Tigbauan, Iloilo-based SEAFDEC AQD headed by Dr. Rolanto R. Platon, chief.
The local government units also play a key role in the venture.
A mariculture park, as described by SEAFDEC AQD’s Fred Yap, operates very much like a marina where private yachts can dock and avail themselves of service utilities for a fee. Like a marine, the mariculture park is provided with mooring facilities and even a floating breakwater.
On land, docking facilities to make it easy to land and market the fish harvest are also provided. The difference is that while a marina caters to the rich and is intended for pleasure craft, the mariculture park is intended as a livelihood center primarily for municipal fisherfolk.
A mariculture park may likewise be considered a marine equivalent of industrial parks set up by the government to encourage and make it convenient for investors to set up manufacturing facilities by providing the pre-developed area with road network, power, water, and communication lines.
The mariculture park’s basic component is a mooring system where cage operators could fasten their cages. Catwalks made of lumber attached to GI pipes are usually installed for easy mooring and harvesting.
Service facilities such as nursery, working platform for harvesting fish, feed warehouse, and technicians’ quarters are also provided. A resident technical expert is a necessary component to ensure the proper implementation of production protocols and preventive laboratory diagnosis.
A pontoon bridge that secures the cage setup allows regulation and expansion of operation.