The government is spending P600 million on the construction of the country’s first mega hatcheries which will help the Philippines reduce its reliance on imported fry, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has confirmed to the BusinessMirror that the agency has earmarked P200 million each for three mega hatcheries under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) 2027.
Once built, the DA chief said the mega hatcheries could produce a billion fry (young fish) of milkfish and other aquaculture and mariculture species.
‘We’re currently importing almost one billion pieces of fry from Indonesia. So, I said why are we importing when we can produce it ourselves?’ he said in a radio interview.
The DA will construct one mega hatchery in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, each spanning 40 hectares, which will be completed by the end of 2027.
‘The fry would likely be provided at least at cost or a bit subsidized. What’s important is to lessen our importation and produce our own for our food security.’
The DA chief noted the glut in milkfish and tilapia supply, indicating the capacity of fishers to grow and export these fish species.
‘The next stage…is provide them with postharvest facilities, like processing these into tapa, freezing them, and to export [these products].’
The domestic aquaculture industry’s growth, he said, should be partnered with ocean conservation efforts.
‘We also have to conserve our oceans for future generations,’ he said, citing the closed fishing seasons implemented annually.
He said the DA is planning to establish additional areas where closed fishing seasons could be implemented, such as in Northwest Mindanao.
‘This could be implemented next year. We are still getting the scientific basis,’ he told this newspaper.
The government imposes a three-month closed fishing season in waters northeast of Palawan starting November 1 and in the Visayan Seas and Zamboanga Peninsula beginning November 15. All three areas are spawning grounds for small pelagic fishes like sardines and mackerel.
The closed fishing season in the Davao Gulf from June to August bans catching certain fish species using bagnets, ringnets, and fine mesh nets to allow the recovery of fish stocks.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicated that the country’s fisheries production slid by 15.3 percent to 856,291 metric tons (MT) in the first quarter from last year’s 1.01 million metric tons.
Of the four subsectors, only commercial fisheries posted an increase in production on an annual basis, based on PSA data.
PSA data showed that the aquaculture subsector, which accounts for over half of the total fisheries output, plunged by nearly a quarter to 432,755 MT during the period, from 573,282 MT in the previous year.
For marine municipal fisheries, PSA said production shrank by 15.5 percent to 168,022 MT in the first quarter, from last year’s 198,945 MT. The subsector accounted for 19.6 percent of the total fisheries output.
Inland municipal fisheries registered 50,279 MT of production during the period, down by 4.5 percent from 52,629 MT in the previous year. This contributed 5.9 percent to the total fisheries production.