Ilonggo reappointed for 5th term as chief of SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department

Dan Baliao has been reappointed as Chief of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD), an international aquaculture research organization based in Iloilo, Philippines.

His reappointment, confirmed by SEAFDEC Secretary-General Dr. Suttinee Limthammahisorn following the unanimous approval of the SEAFDEC Council Directors, extends his leadership for another two years until September 6, 2027. Chief Baliao was previously endorsed by the Philippine Department of Agriculture and nominated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the SEAFDEC Council.

With his fifth appointment, Baliao becomes one of the longest-serving chiefs of SEAFDEC/AQD, following Dr. Rolando Platon, who held the position from 1996 to 2006.

Since his first appointment on September 7, 2017, Baliao has led SEAFDEC/AQD in implementing programs that introduced aquaculture innovations that gained due recognition internationally.

In his previous terms, he spearheaded initiatives to advance five flagship programs: Fry Sufficiency, Cost-efficient Feeds, Oplan Balik Sugpo, the Joint Mission on Accelerated National Techno-Transfer Program (JMANTTP II), and Manpower Development. After nearly eight years, the programs have enabled the completion of 12 government-legislated hatcheries in the Philippines, in collaboration with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Since 2017, under Baliao’s leadership, SEAFDEC/AQD has also added about 20,000 square meters of new broodstock facilities, hatcheries, grow-out tanks, reservoirs, water treatment tanks, and other support structures for multiple aquatic species within its 53-hectare Tigbauan complex.

The research center continues to expand with the ongoing construction of more aquaculture facilities, including a medium-scale feed mill plant in collaboration with BFAR, a hatchery for Bali sardine in collaboration with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), a whiteleg shrimp hatchery with grow-out tanks, and new hatcheries for giant freshwater prawn and mangrove crab. Additionally, its 16-hectare Dumangas Brackishwater Station is also currently upgrading 2.67 hectares of its ponds.

SEAFDEC is an autonomous intergovernmental body established in 1967 to promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in Southeast Asia. It has five departments located in Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Its Aquaculture Department, founded in 1973 in the Philippines, conducts research, develops technologies, and trains people in farming fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and seaweeds for food and livelihood.