From the objectivity of space, the earth is overwhelmingly composed of water. Land appears almost as an afterthought.
“Oceans cover nearly 71% of the earth’s surface, and their deepest trenches plunge farther below sea level than Mount Everest climbs about it,” writes Peter Weber, of the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute. “They contain 97% of the water on earth, and more than 10,000 times as much as all the world’s freshwater lakes and rivers combined.”
Since the dawn of life on earth, oceans have been the ecological keel of the biosphere. But their seminal contribution to the planet was life itself. Scientists believe that the very organisms were bacteria that developed in the depths of the seas some four billion years ago. These were the evolutionary forerunners of all subsequent organisms, and helped create the conditions under which life as it is now known could evolve.
“Only around one-tenth of 115 million square miles of the sea floor has been explored and chartered,” notes Donald Hinrichsen, an award-winning journalist and author of Coastal Waters of the World: Trends, Threats, and Strategies.
Some marine scientists estimated that the sea floor alone may contain up to 10 million species, the majority of them undiscovered. “But no one knows for sure,” Hinrichsen pointed out. “The ocean is our last great frontier.”
The oceans are also touted as the “lungs of the earth,” as they produce about 70% of the world’s oxygen supply. In addition, they absorb more than 50% of carbon dioxide from man-made sources.
More importantly, the oceans are the primary source of protein for three billion people. In 2014, the world fisheries production was 167.2 million metric tons. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 59% of the production came from capture fisheries (inland and marine) and the remaining 41% from aquaculture.
Unfortunately, 90% of the world’s fish stocks are now fully overfished. What is even more alarming is that 31.4% are exploited at “biologically unsustainable level,” according to the paper presented during the 40th Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST).
The same scenario is happening in the Philippines, an archipelago with more than 7,000 islands, 18,500 kilometers of coastline, and 26.6 million hectares of coastal (inshore) waters, 193.4 million hectares of oceanic (offshore) waters.
“We are running out of fish and running out of time. For a country known for marine biodiversity, there are very few fish left to catch,” Vince Cinches, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, was quoted as saying.
Let’s take a closer look at the statistics. In 2017, the country’s fisheries production was reported at 4.317 million metric tons, with 51.9% coming from aquaculture and 48.1% from capture fisheries.
“Fish is the primary source of animal protein in the diet of Filipinos with per capita fish consumption of 34.1 kilograms,” said main author, Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero, former director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development. “There is high poverty incidence of 39.29% among the more than 1.5 million coastal fisherfolk in the country.”
Aquaculture, or fish farming, helps produce food for Filipinos. In 2017, major aquaculture products include seaweeds (62.5%), milkfish (18.6%), tilapia (11.9%), tiger prawn (2%), oyster (1%) and mussel (0.08%).
“Aquaculture contributes to our food security and livelihoods of our coastal communities,” said Dr. Guerrero who co-authored the paper with two other respected scientists, Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco and Porfirio M. Aliño.
It was just a matter of time that the concept of mariculture park – similar to an industrial or science park on land – was born. In 2001, the first mariculture park was introduced by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the coastal waters of the Island Garden City of Samal with demonstration of floating cages for milkfish culture.
Not far from Samal is the Panabo City Mariculture Park (PCMP), which was established in 2006 with partnership of the city government and the Department of Agriculture, particularly BFAR.
According to Dr. Guerrero, the city government unit provides local governance and regulations while BFAR provides technical and advisory services. To attract private investors, infrastructure facilities and support services were provided.
For sustainability, only four cages (100-square-meter each) are kept per hectare and regular monitoring of bottom sediment is done.
The total investment cost (from 2006-2013) was reportedly P467.6 million with P35.5 million coming from BFAR seed money, P21.5 million from the city government, and P72 million from the Land Bank of the Philippines in Davao. The bulk of the amount (P340 million) came from private entities.
Today, PCMP has been identified as one of the most developed mariculture parks in the country. It has an area of 1,075 hectares covering 3 out of 4 coastal barangays of Panabo City. Within those areas, 60 hectares are allocated for marine fish cage and 20 hectares for seaweed production.
As a result, PCMP has contributed food security to the city with 8,389.59 metric tons of fisheries with a value of P830 million. In addition, it has provided 514 jobs to the community.
“Aquaculture, not the internet, is the most promising investment opportunity in the 21st century,” claims Peter Drucker, management guru and economist.
In fact, aquaculture is said to be the “fastest growing food-producing sector in the world.” Average growth rate is 8.8 annually. “Aquaculture is expected to overtake capture fisheries production by 2020,” Dr. Guerrero said.
In terms of coastal aquaculture, Dr. Guerrero said that there are some limitations like lack of fingerlings (mainly milkfish) for culture in cages, high cost of commercial feeds for fish production, pollution of shallow coastal waters with poor water circulation that causes “fish kills,” and competition with navigation and tourism, among others.
According to Dr. Guerrero, open ocean aquaculture (farming in oceanic or offshore waters) is an option for the future. “Environmental impact of large-scale commercial farming can be avoided with stronger currents in the high seas,” he said.
But still there are some limitations: high cost of investment, exposure to storms, piracy and obstruction of shipping lanes.
