Aquaculture pushed as major livelihood program for LGUs

CEBU, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) are encouraged to embrace a Sustainable Aquaculture Program within their territorial waters to create employment opportunities and bolster food security, thereby enhancing the availability of protein in the Filipino diet.

At the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) press briefing, Norberto O. Chingcuanco, vice president for Feedmix Specialist Inc., (FSI) requested LGUs to issue long-term aquaculture permits. This will ensure long-term investments in the fisheries sector.

Adopting a Sustainable Aquaculture Program (SAP) can be a major livelihood program for LGUs aligned with the national government’s call for sustainable food production.  It should be an intentional policy program to attract private sector investments, he said.

“These policies should contain proper zoning and site exclusivity per company or group.

Long-term permits encourage needed long-term investments,” said Chingcuanco.

Also integrated into the SAP should be priority employment for local or native communities within the LGU.  It should implement safety and labor standards.  Fees and rentals should be appropriate to cover the costs of monitoring and regulations.

Chingcuanco lamented that the Philippine government has made it easier to import raw fish rather than importing cooked raw materials in order to produce feeds and grow its own fish.

PCAFI President Danilo V. Fausto noted that the government should also boost the production of fish fries needed in fishery production. It should put up more hatcheries where fish and shellfish are spawned and hatched until large enough to be transferred to an aquaculture farm.

“BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) said tilapia fry and fingerling production was 208.35 million in 2020 while annual demand is 2.1 billion tilapia fingerlings,” said Fausto.

Even local communities will benefit from an LGU-based SPA as they will have priority access over whatever food is produced.

FSI with its affiliate firm Fisher Farms is an integrated aquaculture company with seafood processing facilities that enable export products to reach Europe and North America.

It boasts of full traceability enabling food safety, technological innovation even in feeds, sustainable farm management, and the largest of its kind in its processed fish production.

All of Feedmix’s hatcheries and feed manufacturing facilities are certified and regulated by BFAR. Fisher Farms’ facilities are certified by Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure (SSOP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practice, and World Halal Council.

Calling aquaculture “fish farming” rather than fish hunting, Chingcuanco said aquaculture in the Philippines has exceeded fish hunting production with 2.349 million metric tons as of 2022.  Commercial fisheries only reached 868,408 MT and municipal fisheries, 1.122 million MT.

In his “Sustainable Aquaculture as a Livelihood Option,” Chingcuanco said the fisheries sector is a major job employer in the Philippines.

“We have over 2 million registered fisherfolks as of 2021,” he said. This consists of capture fisheries, 1.095 million fishers; gleaning, 253,825; aquaculture, 247,164; fish vending, 147,038, fish processing 4,524, and related jobs, 404,113.

An aquaculture or marine culture site employs 10 people per hectare and produces 250 tons of fishery per year.

The advantage of SAP is it can be done in remote coastal areas, can employ people in far-flung provinces, and is a source of local food supply and local revenue.  It is protective of the environment if only proper policies are in place.

Fishes are a major source of protein for the Filipino diet.

“Fish and fishery products constitute 11.68 percent of each person’s total food intake which is equivalent to 93.9 grams per day,” he said.  “Each Filipino consumes an average of 34.27 kilos of fish and fish products per year, 65 percent from aquaculture.”

The Philippines should take advantage of its natural resources, having the second longest coastline among Southeast Asian countries and China. It has a coastline of 36,289 kilometers, just second to Indonesia, 99,073 kilometers.

Despite the sustainable risks that fishermen and fishing investors face in the sector, including challenges like storms, volcanic eruptions, and climate change, the country enjoys a unique advantage.

According to Chingcuanco the fishery resources remain abundant in Philippine waters and are not lost, making this sector comparatively less risky when contrasted with crop farming. — (FREEMAN)