1 Introduction
The Mariculture Park (MP) in the Philippines is an integrated business approach in aquaculture which has been adopted as an integral program of the Comprehensive National Fisheries Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP) and promoted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in partnership with the private and public sectors. The major goals are to ensure food security and create livelihood opportunities for coastal communities.
The concept of the mariculture park is patterned upon the development of an industrial estate in the sea, wherein aquaculture plots are leased to investors/aquaculture farmers and infrastructure (mooring systems, navigation lanes and docking areas), utilities (support facilities) and technical services are provided by the government.
The idea of the mariculture park evolved as a solution to address some of the pressing problems besetting the aquaculture industry in the Philippines, such as fish kills caused by environmental degradation in densely farmed areas, unregulated utilization of the coastal waters for aquaculture, low productivity, inaccessibility to suppliers and markets, slow adoption of technologies and limited capital for investments.
Mariculture park development follows an ecosystembased management approach and is also a valuable
Figure 1. Mariculture park development in cumulative number of hectares.
tool for coastal resources management. In the mariculture park, the government manages the activities sustainably by regulating the number and sizes of cages and other structures. The management of mariculture parks takes into consideration the ecological, social, economic and institutional aspects of development. Like any development strategy that involves utilization of natural resources, mariculture has both positive and negative impacts. The development of mariculture, as experienced in commercial scale MPs, has evidently brought about economic benefits such as increased production, job opportunities and to a certain extent reduced illegal fishing activities.
Over a decade, ever since the mariculture parks and zones program was implemented by BFAR, there were observed less reported fish kills and disease occurrence virtually in almost all areas established. This compares to the early stage before the implementation of mariculture parks and zones along municipal waters, where records of mass mortalities due to fish kills were prevailing almost annually resulting in big losses in the sea farming industry, particularly on the milkfish cage operations in the Province of Pangasinan known as an established milkfish producing province in the country.
Hence, with the proper planning of establishing mariculture parks, the perennial incidence was abated.
The first mariculture park was established at the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao in 2001. From 2003 onwards, BFAR expanded the program in other regions of the country which have replicated the project. In July 2012, there were 66 mariculture parks nationwide at different stages of development and 5 MPs to be rehabilitated. As of June 2014 there were 67 MPs established throughout the country with 3 more sites scheduled for launching in Mindanao. The total area covered by mariculture parks was 53,469.33 ha. The 67 mariculture parks have approximately 73 percent of the fish cages, growing milkfish, while the remaining 27 percent are growing groupers, siganids (rabbitfish) and seaweeds. An average mariculture park covers
Figure 2. Mariculture park development in cumulative number of cages.
810 hectares (range 60–27,000 ha) and has 45 cages (range 1–500). Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the cumulative number of hectares and cages for the period 2001–2014. In 2013, however, there was a noted decreased in the farming operations, particularly in the East Visayan region of Leyte and Samar provinces as more than a thousand cages were wiped out by Typhoon Haian. Rehabilitation of the zoned areas and reinstallations of cages are currently ongoing to date.
These mariculture parks are strategically located in various points along the East Seaboard and West Seaboard and are designed to connect the Philippine Mariculture Industry to the international market through a live fish trade network.
A summary of the mariculture parks operational status is given below:
• 67 Established mariculture parks
• 66 MPs/mariculture Zones Assessed
• 1 MP/Mariculture Zone for Assessment
• MPs for Intensive Promotion and Development
• Priority for 2013–2014
a. Balingasag Mariculture Park—Misamis Oriental
b. Panabo Mariculture Park—Davao del Norte
c. Pantukan Mariculture Park—Compostella Valley
• Other Potential Areas
d. Padre Burgos MP—Quezon
e. San Jose MP—Northern Samar
f. Surigao City MP—Surigao del Norte
g. Lopez Jaena MP—Misamis Occidental
The objectives of the Mariculture Park Development Program in the Philippines include:
• Employment generation and poverty alleviation in the countryside
• Promotion of marine fish culture as an alternative source of livelihood for marginalized and sustenance fishers
Figure 3. Location of mariculture parks in the Philippines (as of June 2014).
• Development of an area with appropriate equipment and infrastructure that will allow fishers, fish farmers and investors to operate cost-effectively and securely
• Development of skilled and technically capable fishers to support the mariculture industry
• Promotion of the use of environmentally friendly inputs and farm management practices
• Promotion of Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqP) to address environmental resilience and protection of sensitive habitats.
The main features of a mariculture park are as follows:
• Multiproduct onshore warehouse, cold storage and ice plants facility, service as well as ferry boats
• Sufficient navigational lanes and communal mooring system
• Internal and external security
• Well-defined sites for investment category for small, medium and large scale investor
• Ready available mooring support services for smallscale operators
• Availability of seeds and feeds supplier, cage fabricator and manpower services.
The advantages of being a producer in a mariculture park include:
• Minimal rental cost of a site
• Protection and security provided by Local Government
Unit (LGU), BFAR and military assistance from
Philippines National Police (PNP)
• Technical assistance from BFAR and LGU
• Financial assistance from private and government lending institutions, rural and commercial banks
• Marketing assistance from BFAR, LGU and private marketing experts
• Availability of feeds, fingerlings, fish cages, manpower pool and other ancillary services.
The legal basis for the establishment of the mariculture park are:
• City/Municipal Ordinance
• Memorandum of Agreement LGU-BFAR
• Section 22 of Republic Act 8550 (R.A. 8550)
• National Rules and Regulations
• Local Lease Agreements
• Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).
The development process for setting up a mariculture park occurs in the following sequence:
• Site selection and prioritization
• Pre-assessment of site suitability
• Public hearing/consultations
• Municipal resolution
• Municipal ordinance
• Development plan
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Organization of Executive Management Council (EMC)
• Detailed survey/Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)
• Subdivision plan
• Installation layout (mooring/cages)
• Training
• Lease/permit issuance
• Operation and management
• Regular monitoring (physico-chemical).