ILOILO CITY (PIA) – The Southeast Asian Fisheries and Development Center/Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) has presented different aquaculture innovations during its annual Farmers’ Forum on July 9 at Tigbauan, Iloilo.
Over 100 fisherfolk and representatives from different agencies and the academe in Western Visayas participated in the forum, which highlighted different methods and practices for small and large-scale farmers in aquaculture cultivation, boosting the campaign for food security.
Dr. Roger Edward Mamauag, head of the SEAFDEC-Technology and Verification Extension Division, in an interview, said that the event discussed the recent developments in the farming of key aquaculture commodities and aimed to bridge the gap between researches and its practical application in aquaculture.
Mamauag highlighted the organization’s decade-long tradition of conducting these forums to bridge the gap between aquaculture research and practical application.
“We have been conducting this forum for the past 10 or 15 years already and it aims to disseminate the technologies available, which are products of several years of research. We saw how these researches can be adapted by the farmers to enhance their operations and productions,” Dr. Mamauag said.
The forum, which was part of the 51st anniversary celebration of the SEAFDEC/AQD, featured discussions on Giant Freshwater Prawn Polyculture, Tropical Eel Culture, Pompano Hatchery, Nursery, and Grown-out Operations, and the Sustainable and Innovative Shrimp Farming Practices.
Marwin Dela Cruz, who presented the polyculture of Giant Freshwater Prawn with tilapia and milkfish, noted that tilapia and milkfish farmers can integrate freshwater prawn to their culture system to create a more profitable system, but cautioned that farmers should also “consider other factors, such as the cost of prawn, aeration, and added labor, which can significantly increase production cost.”
SEAFDEC/AQD scientist Dr. Frolan Aya discussed the challenges and high costs associated with Tropical Anguillid Eel culture and the acclimation and conditioning of Glass Eels; while Kathleen Trebol, operations manager of Marmi Farm in Negros Occidental, advocated for sustainable and innovative shrimp farming practices and presented some of the challenges in shrimp farming, which include the environment, habitat destruction, disease outbreaks, climate change, high operational costs, and other technical challenges.
Irene Cabanilla-Legaspi and Dr. Mamauag, on the other hand, highlighted the potential profitability of Pompano as a replacement for milkfish, citing that it can easily adapt to captive conditions in ponds and cages, and easy to domesticate in marine and brackish water environment.
Meanwhile, some fisherfolk who attended the event expressed their gratitude as the forum helped increase their knowledge and enhanced their aquaculture farming techniques.
“We have already attended orientations and seminars, but this one is better, as we get to learn more techniques and aquaculture ideas from higher-level resource persons,” said Gelyn Cayanan, a pompano and milkfish farmer from the Pandaraonan Unified Association-Fisherfolk sector in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.
“We are milkfish farmers, but we went here to learn about the Pompano as we are interested in it. We tried raising it before in a pond, but it wasn’t successful due to the typhoon, and now, through the forum, we’ve learned more about the species and on how we can make them grow,” said Federico Ajesta from Pilar, Capiz.
Aside from the discussion, the event also featured practical sessions on tilapia masculinization, micropropagation of seaweeds, disease diagnosis, and induced spawning of catfish; and the book launching of the “Aquaculture Extension Manual (AEM) 75 Breeding, Seed Production, and Culture of African Catfish Clarias garipienus” and the “AEM 76 on Important Marine Parasites and Their Hosts in the Philippines.” (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
