De Venecia makes strides in aquaculture

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and a fish scientist were honored  by the Society of Aquaculture Engineers of the Philippines Inc. (SAEP) and Philippine Aquaculture Society Inc. (PAS) for their outstanding leadership and devoted service for the advancement of aquaculture in the country. 

De Venecia was awarded “for providing the strongest impetus for the lifting of the existing ban on the entry and culture of the Pacific White Shrimp, Penaeus vannamei in 2007.” 

He was recognized as Prime Mover of Penaeus vannamei farming in the Philippines. 

Emilia Quinitio was awarded “for dedicating most of her professional life to refining the techniques for propagation and culture of the mangrove crab Scylla serrate at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department.” 

Quinitio is responsible for the eventual commercialization of crab hatchery and nursery technology. 

She was recognized as Promoter of Mangrove Crab Aquaculture in the Philippines. 

De Venecia, popularly known as JDV, was raised by a family with a huge passion and love for aquaculture. He would set up fish traps and crab pots in their large fishponds when he was young.

P. vannamei started in the Philippines when the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources initially formulated FAO 207 which further strengthened FAO 189 of 1993 prohibiting the importation of exotic shrimps in the Philippines due to threats of diseases such as Taura syndrome viruses while other countries had been into the culture of P. vannamei way ahead of the Philippines. 

This, however, did not stop shrimp enthusiasts to pursue culturing P. vannamei in the country.  

This changed when JDV intervened when he invited Rosario to visit Bumi Dipasena, the world’s largest integrated shrimp farm with 80,000 hectares in Southern Sumatra. They began to appreciate more the operation of aquaculture estate. 

With great eagerness in bringing back the technology and develop the industry in the archipelago, JDV zealously volunteered to help BFAR uplift the shrimp industry. 

Through him, BFAR top executives were able to talk and negotiate with foreign shrimp stakeholders with highly commercialized shrimp culture operations in Indonesia under the administration of then director Malcolm Sarmiento. 

The negotiations led to the lifting of the ban on the culture of P. vannamei. 

Aside from being the prime mover for the comeback of P. vannamei in the Philippines, De Venecia was the chief benefactor of the National Integrated Fisheries Development Center (NIFTDC) in this city and the one behind the establishment of the Asian Fisheries Academy (AFA) inside the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) center in this city. 

AFA’s mission is to improve the transfer of technologies of the fisheries sector in the Philippines. 

De Venecia was also the one who negotiated with the government of Korea to grant funding assistance for the Seafood Processing Complex in BFAR-NIFTDC. 

He also partly funded the establishment of the first Philippine Bangus Commercial Hatchery as well as the country’s first-ever live fish market and aquarium building similar to those existing in Indonesia and Thailand. 

The awarding was highlighted by the foot printing of the awardees in front of the AFA for its Giant Steps Towards Dynamic Philippine Aquaculture similar to Philippine showbiz’s Walk of Fame which immortalizes top stars in the industry through markers.