Experts have devised a long-term plan to increase the country's aquaculture output without damaging the environment, a government press release said.

Rafael Guerrero, executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development, said in the press release that the strategy aims to attain sustainability in production of bangus or milkfish, shrimps, tilapia and seaweed for self-sufficiency and global competitiveness.

PCAMRD is the sectoral council of the Department Of Science and Technology tasked with the formulation of strategies, policies, plans, programs and projects for science and technology.

Guerrero said aquaculture or fish farming is one of the “brightest spots” of the Philippine economy and also one of the fastest growing food production systems in the world, the press release said.

Aquaculture contributes 2.2 per cent, or about P95.49 million, to the Philippine gross domestic product and placed the Philippines eighth in global fisheries production.

The country is the top producer of world milkfish and carrageenan (or seaweeds) production, second world tuna exporter, and fourth in world tilapia production, the press release said.

One of the concerns of fish farming is unregulated fish cages and fish pens in many coastal waters, wherein overcrowding severely contributes to degradation of water quality that ended up in fish kills, Guerrero said in the press release.

PCAMRD lists at least seven agencies that came up with the framework which primarily revolves around assessing hatchery systems, maintaining gene banks for screening and utilizing biotechnology to secure biosafety, among others.

The Philippines saw a decline in tiger shrimp production in the last eight years, which led the Pangasinan-based National Fisheries Research and Development Institute-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to breed pathogen or disease-free Pacific white shrimp, the press release added.*

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