Fish farming pushed as import alternative

SCALY JOBA vendor processes milkfish bought by customers at a public market in Manila last September. Supply of milkfish had declined because of closure of fish pens in Rizal province and flooding in the province of Bulacan and Dagupan City. —EARVIN PERIAS

DAGUPAN CITY — Instead of importing “galunggong” (round scad), the country should boost fish farming, given that it can generate fish all year round, a former director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said.

Malcolm Sarmiento said China might have the technology, but its production time was only one-half year, while the Philippines could continue generating fish for the whole year because of the climate.

“The Philippines is one of the countries with great potential for fish farming. We don’t have the four seasons, like China,” Sarmiento said.

Untapped

Sarmiento was conferred an award on Thursday at the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) here for implementing a nationwide mariculture program.

“We have not really tapped the full potential of aquaculture,” he added.

Sarmiento described galunggong importation as “ironic.”

In August, the Department of Agriculture allowed the importation of 17,000 metric tons of galunggong to stabilize rising prices in the market.

“We have to depend on aquaculture because marine production is going down worldwide. Every country is suffering a decline in production from marine capture,” Sarmiento said.

Production fall

According to Westly Rosario, NIFTDC director, the Philippines used to be the world’s 4th biggest fish producer, but it now ranks 11th.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that fish production peaked in 2010 with 5.2 million metric tons in harvests.

This slid to 4.9 MMT the following year and 4.8 MMT in 2012. Last year, the recorded fish production was 4.3 MMT.