by Christine Lyn Viajante

PALA-O, Iligan City (Oct. 04) — Bringing together key stakeholders in the shrimp aquaculture industry from across Northern Mindanao, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 10 (BFAR-10) convenes Shrimp Operators in a forum here today.

The conference provided a platform for shrimp grow-out operators, mostly from Misamis Occidental and the Lanao del Norte Aquaculture Producers Association (LANAPA), to express their concerns, challenges, and issues regarding the decrease in shrimp production in the region.

Region 10 Shrimp Focal Dr. Jennifer Marie A. Rivero shared the National Shrimp Roadmap and discussed the current status of shrimp production compared to the data gathered from years ago.

According to Dr. Rivero, even after the CoViD-19 pandemic surge in 2021, shrimp operators in the region were recognized as top producers of Penaeus monodon (tiger prawn) with a total production of 42,255.64MT.

However, based on the most recent annual data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2023, the area only produced 27,362.52MT, a 35.25% drop in production in just two years.

“Gakakita g’yud nato nga nag-negative g’yud ta in terms of production labi na sa atung tiger prawn, mao nang sa karon pa lang, nagpasalamat na ko sa inyuhang aktibong presensya dinhi aron kitang tanan maghi-usa sa pagtubag ani nga problema,” Rivero explained.

[We can see the downward trend in terms of production, especially with the tiger prawn, and that’s why I’m so thankful for all of your presence here so that we can address this problem as one.]

Meanwhile, another key topic of the forum was the registration of shrimp farms under the Good Aquaculture Practice (GAqP) certification, a national program aimed at ensuring that aquaculture products meet the highest standards of food safety, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility.

The bureau’s Fisheries Integrated Laboratory Section (FILS) encouraged the participants to expedite their registration processes and offered technical assistance to help farms meet the requirements.

Additionally, operators raised various issues and concerns including the challenges they face and experience in their day-to-day operations hoping to address these pressing matters.

Ranging from technical difficulties in maintaining water quality, disease outbreaks, siltation, and the rising feed cost to more structural concerns such as limited access to financing, market volatility, and the need for more stringent biosecurity measures.

Majority of the participants agreed that the leading causes of these challenges are climate change and pollution.

“Nagpasalamat g’yud mi sa inyo (BFAR-10) sa paghatag ninyo sa amoa og pagtagad for the first time. We are very optimistic that through dialogues like this, one of these days we can truly solve this issue dayon mabuhi na ug balik ang among mga panginabuhian,” LANAPA secretary, Aurora Aguilar expressed.

[We’re grateful to BFAR-10 for giving us this opportunity for the first time. We are very optimistic that through dialogues like this, one of these days, we can truly solve this issue where our livelihood will prosper again.]

As a proactive response, the Provincial Fishery Officers of Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental reaffirmed to hasten the revival of the Panguil Bay Development Council (PBDC) as an integral body in the management of aquatic resources in the area to formulate and strengthen environmental protective ordinances.

“Among gipahingusgan nga ma-duso gyud ni ang atung priority project nga revitilization of aquaculture industry in Region 10. Naa ni nga forum para amo gyung maklaro kung unsa gyud tong mga panginahanglanon aron mahimuan namo ug proposal,” Stephanie C. Tomarong, BFAR-10 PMEU head ensured.

[We will strongly push the revitalization of the aquaculture industry in Region 10 as one of our priority projects. This forum is the right venue for us to identify your needs and create appropriate and relevant project proposals.] (CLViajante//BFAR-10)