October 16, 2007

Philippine government builds three white shrimp farms

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has constructed three hatcheries in the Visayas to breed and produce the Peneaus vannamei or Pacific white shrimp as part of the agency's to revive the country's shrimp industry.

The DA has been successful so far in experimenting in the culture of vannamei in freshwater.

DA, through its agency, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the two hatcheries are located in Iloilo, Cebu and Bohol and owned by Malou Jamandre, Dodo Allegre and Mar Uy, respectively.

In Pangasinan, the BFAR facility is being used as the central hatchery of white shrimp.

BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento said they only import pathogen-free stocks from Honolulu and Florida in the United States to prevent diseases from coming in.

Sarmiento said that to broaden the country's aquaculture base, they have introduced P. vannamei in the market after subjecting it to a rigid impact risk analysis.

Pacific white shrimp or P. vannamei are bred in captivity better than Peneaus monodon or black tiger shrimp, with a hatchery survival rate of 50 percent to 60 percent. P. vannamei also grows as fast as or even faster than P. monodon at up to 20 grams in size and has a lower dietary protein requirement, making it cheaper to breed.