The Department of Agriculture (DA) has confirmed that the result of tiger prawn production in the second quarter of 2008 has increased enormously. It is told that from only 136.93 metric tons (MT) in the second quarter of 2007, tiger prawn raising marked a huge leap with 3,164 MT in the same period this year.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) explained that high value aquaculture species such as tiger prawns have been showing signs of growth due to increased stocking and farmers’ exposure to proper cultural management practices. BFAR Director Malcom Sarmiento Jr. said in a statement that the production increase was attributed to the 2,309 hectares of brackishwater fishponds that shifted to tiger prawn from bangus culture in Bulacan, particularly, in the towns of Hagonoy and Paombong.
According to the DA they are looking forward to produce 100,000 MT of shrimp in five years, especially due to the large-scale production of vannamei or Pacific white shrimp. This increased amount will mean more exports as forty percent of the country’s shrimp production is brought to countries like Japan, Korea, US, Canada, and Guam. The BFAR informed as vannamei shrimps mature faster it require less production inputs and have greater disease-resistance, an unprecedented shrimp production of more than 100,000 MT is projected in five years, double the current production of around 30,000 MT of white shrimps and 24,000 MT of prawns or sugpo annually.
The figure shows other expanding aquaculture species which include carp, which is up by 1.56 percent, and mud crab, marking a growth of 6.29 percent. BFAR said that such improvements were due to good quality and prices, high survival rate, and high demand in the market.
