May 3, 2010

 

Mariculture may ease effects of El Niño in Philippines

 

 

One way of mitigating the effects of El Niño is mariculture or sea farming, according to Phillip Ong, president of Santeh Feeds Corp., a Philippine fish feed provider.

 

El Niño has dried up farmlands, reservoirs and waterways all over the country, forcing farmers to find other ways to adapt and survive. Even lakes and ponds have also been left parched from the heat.

 

While freshwater fishponds are drying up, brackishwater fishponds are suffering from high salinity which can affect the growth of fish.

 

Ong said mariculture has a number of advantages over its freshwater and brackishwater counterparts.

 

He said that the country has an inherent advantage with its long coastline, adding that farming the sea with high value marine species will be more profitable than land-based farms. Pond culture requires big investments in land development and pond preparation. For marine cage farming, the set up time is greatly reduced, he said.

 

Land-based aquaculture requires building ponds or tanks, which require more resources and time to develop and maintain. On the other hand, mariculture uses "sea cages" - a system of nets and a frame to contain the fish – which are submerged in the ocean.

 

"Also, the sea maintains a fairly constant temperature and salinity throughout the year, which is good for the health of the fish because it reduces stress brought about by sudden changes," explained Ong.

 

Importantly too, Ong said water exchange is generally high in floating sea cages. This means there is no need to expend energy for pumping water and providing aeration, even at high stocking densities. Even with fuel and electricity cost continuing to go up, production cost is hardly affected. This means lower prices for the consumers.

 

Lastly the cages can be moved to new areas in the ocean to reduce the build-up of biological wastes in an area.

 

He said all these advantages have played a key role in the growth of mariculture. In Asia, the leading aquaculture region in the world, the aquaculture industry is diversifying to include increasing proportions of marine finfish which are high in market value.

 

With global statistics showing that almost half of all fish consumed today is farmed and not caught, mariculture offers a lot of economic and environmental opportunities for the Philippines considering the country's history and advantage in fisheries.

 

Critical to succeeding in mariculture is setting up an efficient mariculture park to which Santeh cites the following as key success factors: 1) site 2) cage and structures 3) quality seeds 4) farming technology 5) quality feed 6) market access and development.