Mariculture Parks in the Philippines

Patrick White and Nelson A. Lopez1

Abstract

The Government of the Philippines through the Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources has promoted the development of mariculture zones and parks as a way of responsible and sustainable development of coastal cage aquaculture to provide livelihood to local communities and contribute to food security. At the present time there are over 60 mariculture parks in operation throughout the Philippines.

The concept of the Mariculture Park (MP) is patterned upon the development of an industrial estate in a selected zone designated for aquaculture within municipal waters, wherein aquaculture plots are leased to small to medium sized aquaculture farms, and infrastructure (mooring systems, navigation lanes and docking areas), utilities (support facilities) and technical services are provided by the government. The development process for setting up and operating a mariculture park follows a well-defined set of steps. The main features of the mariculture park development include: (i) Shared infrastructure—multiproduct onshore warehouse, cold storage and ice plants facility, service as well as ferry boats, communal mooring system; (ii) Shared services—availability of seeds and feeds supplier, cage fabricator and manpower services; (iii) Shared security—internal and external security; and (iv) Sustainability—well-selected sites for small, medium and large scale investor. Controlled maximum production. Environmental monitoring.

1 The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO or the World Bank Group.

White, P. & Lopez, N. A. 2017. Mariculture Parks in the Philippines. In J. Aguilar-Manjarrez, D. Soto & R. Brummett. Aquaculture zoning, site selection and area management under the ecosystem approach to aquaculture. Full document, pp. 287–313. Report ACS113536. Rome, FAO, and World Bank Group, Washington, DC. 395 pp.