SEAFDEC pushes new tech to boost fish, seaweed farms

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) showcased new technologies and best practices aimed at strengthening the country’s aquaculture industry, gathering farmers, fisherfolk, researchers, and government agencies during its Farmers’ Forum on Wednesday, July 8.

Held as part of SEAFDEC-AQD’s 53rd anniversary celebration, the forum drew participants from across Western Visayas, including delegates from Negros Occidental and Romblon, to discuss innovations that could improve aquaculture productivity, sustainability, and market competitiveness.

Established in July 1973 and based in Tigbauan, Iloilo, SEAFDEC-AQD is the aquaculture research arm of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, an intergovernmental body that promotes sustainable fisheries development in the region.

Among the key topics discussed were aquaculture feed production, laboratory-based seaweed propagation, good aquaculture practices for grow-out farming, and the certification and registration of aquaculture hatcheries and grow-out farms.

SEAFDEC-AQD Chief Dan Baliao said the forum serves as a venue where farmers, experts, local government units, national agencies, and industry stakeholders can exchange knowledge and strengthen collaboration to advance Philippine aquaculture.

“Fulfilling your need for aquaculture knowledge is the core purpose of AQD’s existence. Quite simply, our work lacks meaning without your partnership,” he said.

Seaweed technology

One of the forum’s highlights was the presentation on micropropagation of seaweeds, a laboratory-based technique developed by SEAFDEC-AQD to produce healthier and more resilient planting materials.

Joseph Faisan Jr., head of SEAFDEC-AQD’s seaweeds commodity, said the technology addresses the declining productivity of the seaweed industry caused by climate-related events, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, pest infestations, grazing organisms, and the continued use of low-quality planting materials propagated vegetatively over many years.

The stakes are significant, as the Philippines is among the world’s top producers of farmed seaweed, a leading fishery export sold as raw dried seaweed and processed carrageenan, and a primary source of income for thousands of coastal households.

Among the industry’s persistent challenges are the “ice-ice” disease, epiphytic algae, declining seed vigor, and reduced farm yields, all of which have affected farmers’ incomes.

To address these problems, SEAFDEC-AQD developed a tissue culture and micropropagation system that produces high-quality seedstock under controlled laboratory conditions before they are acclimatized and transferred to nursery facilities and eventually to open-water farms.

The process begins with selecting healthy donor seaweeds, culturing small tissue segments in the laboratory, acclimatizing them in tanks, and raising them in controlled nursery cages before field deployment.

According to Faisan, trials showed that tissue-cultured seedlings produced better growth and higher harvestable biomass than conventional farm-sourced planting materials while offering year-round availability, consistent quality, and improved resistance to diseases.

“What are the advantages of using the tissue culture method of propagation of seaweeds? The quality in terms of gross is equal to or higher than farm services […] They produced higher harvestable biomass compared with the farm-sourced seaweeds,” he said.

He said wider adoption of the technology, along with expanded seed production laboratories, stronger extension programs, disease monitoring, and improved post-harvest processing, could help stabilize seaweed production and improve the livelihoods of farming communities.

Registration, certification

The forum also highlighted the ongoing efforts of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to prepare aquaculture operators for future registration and certification requirements.

During her lecture, Donnaciel Panado of BFAR Western Visayas encouraged fish farmers to coordinate first with their local government units and join accredited fisherfolk organizations to facilitate registration and access government assistance.

She acknowledged that many aquaculture operators remain unfamiliar with registration requirements and said BFAR will intensify information and education campaigns in aquaculture communities.

She also emphasized the importance of farm registration in meeting traceability requirements.

She added that processors increasingly require registered suppliers to ensure product safety and maintain export market access.

“If you have a long-term and bigger ambition of exporting your goods, your products, you have to have your ponds comply with the Good Aquaculture Practices,” she said.

“Processors are requiring those raw material sources to be registered because that is another requirement for them for traceability,” Panado said.

Panado said registration can also help farmers access government assistance and benefits such as free fingerlings, services, training, and other aid for fisherfolk and aquaculture beneficiaries.