Aquaculture in Asia-Pacific / March update

Sorry for the shortest update this month: I have been moving from the Philippines to France and tremendously lacked time...

Disclaimer: This is not an extensive review of aquaculture in each country, this is a digest of the news about aquaculture in Asia-Pacific released on Internet this month. The validity of any information or figures quoted is the responsibility of the individual newspapers and websites concerned. Also, please check previous updates: August 2009, September 2009, October 2009, November 2009, December 2009, January 2010, February 2010.

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Fiji

• Tilapia Found to be Invasive in Fiji

The poster child for sustainable fish farming—the tilapia—is actually a problematic invasive species for the native fish of the islands of Fiji, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Scientists suspect that tilapia introduced to the waterways of the Fiji Islands may be gobbling up the larvae and juvenile fish of several native species of goby, fish that live in both fresh and salt water and begin their lives in island streams. The recently published paper appears in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems [2].

French Polynesia

• The results from the scientific research will be applied to Farmed pearl chain

The Department of Fisheries Resources organized a meeting in order to present to pearl farmers the results of research conducted during the last 10 years in French Polynesia. Conducted by Ifremer, the research have permitted to better know the pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera, its biology and relation with the environment. 100 farmers attended the meeting which help to define objectives aimed at supporting sustainable development of the chain. The target is not quantity but quality of Tahiti pearl, by selecting breeders and optimizing pearl production [1].

• Revival of the raising of "Tahitian shrimp"

The revival of the raising of "Tahitian shrimp" is a top priority in the agenda of the Ministry in charge of aquaculture. The activity is quite old now, but because of land constraints and energy costs, this industry has developed here in a modest scale (2 to 3 farms) to stabilize at a level of only 40 50 tons per year, in comparison to 2500 tons in New Caledonia. The question is, will the current political support led to the expected economical success ? [6].

New Caledonia

• Poor performance of aquaculture sector in 2009

After several years of euphoria, the economy stalled in 2009 in New Caledonia, but the indicators are nevertheless well oriented in 2010, said Thursday the Institut d'Emission d'Outre-mer (EOM). The mining industry rebound later this year but the aquaculture (shrimp) sector and tourism recorded poor performance [5].

Philippines

• No fish shortage during El Niño, BFAR assures

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assured the public that there will be no shortage of fish products in the coming months, even as instances of fish kills continue to be reported from various aquaculture areas across the country. "We are very far from experiencing a fish shortage. We also do not expect any rise in the prices of fish products, except during the Holy Week when fish is in demand," BFAR director Malcolm Sarmiento told GMANews.TV in an phone interview. Sarmiento explained that the losses in fresh water fishery caused by the current El Niño dry spell are less than 100 tons, or not even 10 percent of last year’s total production, which he pegged at 250,000 tons. He, however, admitted that the government has already lost P5 million due to fish kills, especially from the provinces of Isabela and Ifugao. BFAR has earlier reported a fish kill in Isabela, which yielded about 10,000 kilograms of dead tilapia retrieved from the Magat Dam [3].
Big prospects for organic aquaculture
In the case of aquaculture, the prospects are bright both in the domestic and foreign markets as there has been an increasing trend in production and demand in the past years, says Tarlochan Singh, chief of Malaysia-based INFOFISH Technical Advisory Services at the recent CFC/FAO INFOFISH workshop series on organic aquaculture production and marketing held in Makati. Singh said that global organic aquaculture production has posted a 950 percent growth in the last 20 to 25 years, with an expected 500,000 metric tons (MT) annual production in 2015 which is 1 percent of the global aquaculture production. The area for organic aquaculture has also expanded, covering around 35-million hectares as of 2008. The promotion of organic aquaculture in Asia is spearheaded by INFOFISH in partnership with the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. In March 2007, these three organizations launched the $1.4-million three-year project called CFC/FAO/INFOFISH Organic Aquaculture Project which aimed to boost the production and marketing of organic, sustainable, eco-labelled aquaculture products in Asia. This project focuses on three countries (Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand) where the 12 project farms are located. The project also conducts dissemination activities in other Asian countries [7].

Vietnam

• Standards finalised for catfish farming

The standards for breeding catfish were finalised and approved at the last meeting of the "pangasius aquaculture dialogue" in southern Can Tho City. The meeting discussed feedback received from 170 people on the draft standards for responsible pangasius farming during the initiative's public comment period. The final standards are expected to minimise negative environmental and social impacts associated with pangasius farming. "There's a huge demand for farmed pangasius in the marketplace, but what is missing in the marketplace is a credible label for environmentally-friendly pangasius," said Dr. Flavio Corsin of World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), coordinator of the dialogue. "We've received a lot of suggestions during this process – which is a clear indication that people see the need for a robust set of pangasius standards," said Dr. Mohammad Mahfujul Haque of the Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, who coordinates a technical working group for the dialogue. Final standards are expected within approximately two months after the final dialogue meeting. The first Aquaculture Dialogue standards – for tilapia – were unveiled in December. Standards from five additional dialogues are expected to be completed in 2010. The Aquaculture Dialogues, a group of eight multi-stakeholder roundtables, are coordinated by WWF and include more than 2,000 participants. All of the dialogue standards will be amended periodically to reflect changes in science and technology, as well as to encourage innovation and continuous improvement [4].

REFERENCES

[1] http://www.tahitipresse.pf/2010/03/les-travaux-de-la-recherche-scientifique-appliques-a-la-filiere-de-la-perle/ (consulted on March 9, 2010)
[2] http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40919?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WildlifeAndHabitatConservationNews-Enn+%28Wildlife+and+Habitat+Conservation+News+-+ENN%29
[3] http://www.gmanews.tv/story/185333/no-fish-shortage-during-el-nintildeo-bfar-assures (consulted on March 9, 2010)
[4] http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Agriculture/197360/Standards-finalised-for-catfish-farming-.html (consulted on March 9, 2010)
[5] http://www.lepoint.fr/bourse/2010-03-11/la-croissance-economique-caledonienne-a-marque-le-pas-en-2009/2037/0/432257 (consulted on March 23, 2010)
[6] http://hirofarepote.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/crevette-tahitienne-sursaut-ou-nouveau-mirage/ (consulted on March 23, 2010)
[7] http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/247043/big-prospects-organic-aquaculture (consulted on March 23, 2010)