SEAFDEC/AQD opens three hatcheries to boost aquaculture seed supply

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center/Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) inaugurated three hatchery facilities July 9 at its Tigbauan Main Station in Iloilo, expanding its capacity to produce seedstock for whiteleg shrimp, giant freshwater prawn, and mangrove crab.

The new facilities include a whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) hatchery and grow-out complex, a giant freshwater prawn hatchery, and a mangrove crab hatchery.

The three hatcheries represent a combined investment of PHP 87 million.

SEAFDEC/AQD said the projects are intended to help address the shortage of quality aquaculture seed while strengthening its research and production capabilities.

Established in 1973, SEAFDEC/AQD conducts aquaculture research, develops technologies, disseminates information, and provides training to support food production, livelihoods, and sustainable development.

Its 40-hectare Tigbauan Main Station serves as the department’s headquarters and houses research laboratories, hatcheries, broodstock facilities, and training centers.

The PHP 50 million Litopenaeus vannamei Hatchery and Grow-out Complex includes facilities for broodstock maturation, spawning, larval rearing, algal culture, and grow-out.

The hatchery is designed to produce up to 18 million postlarvae annually.

Its six circular concrete grow-out tanks — four with a capacity of 265 tons each and two with a capacity of 471 tons each — are expected to produce about 36 metric tons of shrimp annually.

The PHP 12 million giant freshwater prawn hatchery is expected to produce 2.4 million postlarvae annually.

The facility is intended to increase the seed supply for ulang, a native species regarded as a promising aquaculture commodity but constrained by the limited availability of quality seed.

The PHP 25 million mangrove crab hatchery can produce 1.5 million crab instars annually, expanding SEAFDEC/AQD’s seedstock supply for another high-value aquaculture species.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Fisheries Drusila Esther Bayate, who represented Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. during the inauguration, said the facilities demonstrate the government’s continued investment in strengthening the aquaculture sector.

Bayate said SEAFDEC/AQD has served for more than five decades as a key partner in advancing aquaculture in the Philippines and Southeast Asia through research, innovation, and collaboration that have contributed to food security and livelihood opportunities for fishing communities.

She said Filipino fisherfolk continue to contend with extreme weather events, rising production costs, and aquatic diseases, underscoring the need for research-driven technologies and reliable seed production.

“These are more than new facilities—they are investments in the future of Philippine aquaculture,” Bayate said.

SEAFDEC/AQD Chief Dan D. Baliao said the projects are part of the department’s long-term effort to modernize its infrastructure and maximize previously underutilized areas at the Tigbauan Main Station.

When Baliao assumed office in 2017, the station’s operations focused primarily on research, while limited facilities constrained the department’s ability to expand production and deliver technologies to the aquaculture sector.

SEAFDEC/AQD launched an infrastructure revitalization program in 2018 to rehabilitate aging structures and convert idle spaces into hatcheries and operational support facilities.

Since April, the department has rehabilitated or constructed 12 facilities, including the three hatcheries inaugurated during its 53rd anniversary celebration.

Baliao also highlighted the Aquaculture Feed Mill Plant inaugurated in April as a collaborative project among SEAFDEC/AQD, the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute.

The feed mill can produce 5 tons of aquafeeds daily, which SEAFDEC/AQD estimates could support the production of about 780 metric tons of fish annually.

While acknowledging the significant investment required to build the facilities, Baliao said the projects are intended to accelerate aquaculture development in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia.

“If that is what is needed to stimulate the further development of aquaculture in the country and the whole Southeast Asian region, then that would mean money well spent,” he said.

Baliao said SEAFDEC/AQD will continue expanding its facilities as needed to improve aquaculture production and contribute to regional food security.

He thanked the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Foreign Affairs, BFAR, NFRDI, partner local government units, private-sector stakeholders, and SEAFDEC/AQD employees for supporting the department’s programs.

The inauguration was attended by local chief executives from Tigbauan, Guimbal, Miag-ao, and San Joaquin; representatives from the municipalities of Mina, Bingawan, and Pandan; officials of the Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office; fisheries educators and students; and private-sector partners.