Aquaculture in the Philippines
[6]: 100 [10] Less frequent marine aquaculture products include giant clams, nacre (pearl shell), green snails, and Trochus.
The presence of tilapia may also improve the quality of shrimp ponds, producing phytoplankton less likely to facilitate the growth of bacteria that cause the luminous vibriosis disease.
Simple cages use wire mesh or fishing nets to create an enclosure around all but the top side, supported by bamboo.
In Manila, all bivalve sales are banned during such periods, to prevent products from affected areas being mixed in with unaffected produce.
More advanced platforms can be sunk during the day and brought to the surface at night, allowing for greater access to nutrients and better resilience to tropical storms.
[1]: 42 Tilapia made up 96% of all freshwater fish pond production in 2020, with the rest including milkfish, carp, catfish, mudfish, gourami, and prawns.
[1]: 32 Freshwater cage aquaculture is also dominated by tilapia, which makes up 86.82% of production, with the rest being milkfish, carp, and catfish.
[15] The damage caused by the annual typhoon season means coastal aquaculture is more developed than ocean mariculture.
[14] As wild stocks are declining, overall fisheries production is reliant on aquaculture, and thus greatly affected by changes in government funding, water quality, and disease.
[9]: 12 However, aquaculture products are not as nutritious as wild-caught fish, with milkfish and tilapia containing relatively less protein, calcium, Vitamin A, Omega-3, iron, and selenium.
As an example, tilapia farming is a core component of the economy of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, in 1994 making up over 50% of total income and employing 10% of workers.
[27]: 46 While some aquaculture-related jobs are performed by both genders, such as fish feeding, many, particularly those requiring more demanding physical labor such as construction, are predominantly held by men.
Artisanal fisheries were forced to navigate around water now occupied by fish pens, and conflict emerged due to fears of poaching.
This affects wildlife, including natural fish, crustaceans, and mollusk populations, although cages may have a lower impact on the benthic environment.
Tilapia fish cages caused the level of dissolved oxygen in Lake Sampaloc to decrease, creating a dead zone a few meters below the surface.
These chemicals are known to cause issues in intensive farming, due to their high concentrations affecting nearby water quality.
[12]: 12 Maritime fish cages also affect nutrient deposition, creating areas of relatively concentrated organic matter.
Tilapia played a role in bringing the native sinarapan fish to the brink of extinction and greatly reduced the population of flathead grey mullet in Naujan Lake.
In Laguna de Bay, walking catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus janitor fish, and clown featherback knifefish harm aquaculture and native species.
[8]: 61 Non-fish invasive species include Pontederia crassipes water hyacinth and Chinese softshell turtles, bred ornamentally and for food respectively.
[16] The Local Government Code of 1991 devolved responsibility for fisheries licensing and regulation to cities and municipalities (with the exception of leasing public land for fish ponds, which remains with BFAR).
[16] The Fisheries Code initially banned fish pens, cages, and traps, in lakes, although this provision was not included in widely debated drafts.
[31] Laws regulating the use of public natural resources, such as requiring 50 metres (160 ft) of mangroves near the water's edge, are often flouted.
[4] Where multiple local governments share a water body, a joint Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC) can be formed.
These councils include not only local government or barangay officials, but representatives from NGOs, fisherfolk groups, and the private sector.
[4] While Philippine sustainability laws are often not followed, the external requirements of export markets can incentivize compliance due to the need for certification and traceability.
[16] The appearance of the invasive clown featherback in Laguna de Bay, possibly washed into the lake by Typhoon Ketsana in 2009, reduced the native populations of not only the wild Leiopotherapon plumbeus, but farmed bighead carp, milkfish, and Nile tilapia.
Despite many species being introduced for farming, production remained limited due to competition with cropland and a cultural preference for marine fish.
Dedicated shrimp faming began in Negros Occidental, where sugar fields were often converted into aquaculture farms.
[16] Aquaculture expansion began receiving significant financial support from the government and multilateral organizations in the 1990s, as wild fish stocks decreased.
