IGaCoS Mariculture Park
Launched in 2001 by the local government of IGaCOS and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture (BFAR-DA), the Mariculture Park is the first of its kind in Asia and is an innovative component of the larger Coastal Resource Management and Zoning Plan of IGaCOS.
The Mariculture Park of the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCOS) in Davao del Norte is a viable showcase of a joint local and national government initiative on managing coastal resources while providing alternative livelihood to coastal communities.
Besides declaring protected zones where fishing is either prohibited or regulated, the Plan includes a Mariculture Park where fisherfolk and local investors can pursue mariculture livelihoods. Similar to the delineation of an industrial estate in land areas, the Mariculture Park project features a) infrastructure for fish cage culture for lease to investors and fisherfolk groups, as well as b) technology transfer and organizing of fisherfolk on fish farming within and outside the park.
The project’s objectives are in line with the national government’s thrust on poverty alleviation through increasing productivity, creation of jobs and livelihood opportunities, and promotion of environmental/natural resource management and sustainability.
Specifically, the project aims to:
1. Create jobs and alternative livelihoods among fisherfolk communities
2. Increase fish production through floating fish cage mariculture
3. Generate additional LGU revenue through encouraging more local investors/locators
4. Revitalize IGaCOS’ municipal waters in the Davao Gulf
An excellent and detailed brochure is available courtesy
LGSP. It is well worth downloading and reading if you have interest in this project or others like it.
Hi Randy, interesting that you posted this. I must say my husband (Norwegian) and I retired from an aquaculture business in Vancouver. In fact, I “grow” the fish (Salmon – cold water fish) on paper from developing a growth/feed model based on several years of experience and my husband grows them out at sea. This is a highly technical and capital intensive business. I hope they are successful and have good people to run it. Strange that we haven’t seen this facility when we cruised along that area. We will keep it in mind and hope to visit it one day. Do you know if it has a hatchery? Or do they just catch the fingerlings and grow them out in the holding pens? I have read reports that farmed-fish production has increased dramatically here in Mindanao.
Sorry I didnt see the link to the Brochure. I quickly read through it and it is a good concept. It takes a high capital investment to set up a fish farm and this concept at least allows farmers to raise fish without having to put up this kind of capital. I see that Canada has a hand on this – hurray for them.
Hi Ellen – glad to see that I was able to bring this to your attention. It sounds like you have quite the background in this area, and truthfully I know almost nothing about it. It seems to be a somewhat important project that I wanted to make people aware of.
We have extensive experience in coldwater fish rearing. For salmon, it takes 3 years from eggs to market; it is a high risk business, very exposed to mother nature (algae blooms and diseases) and to the global markets. Therefore planning, budgeting, people with strong experience and investors with deep pockets are crucial. Norway is the biggest producer, over 400k tons per year, then Chile. In fact, fish prices in Norway are cheaper than beef and pork meat most times. When we are there, we eat fish about 3 times per week. I don’t think North Americans come close to that – maybe only once/twice per month. Here, we are lucky – fish is plentiful although I hear signs of depleting stocks which equates to higher prices. One of the shocking thing I heard is that coastal people were catching clown fish (Finding Nemo?) to eat. I really hope this is not true, but when times are desperate …
We have seen Fish Attraction Devices (locally called payao) as far out as 180 nautical miles from the Mindanao coast. They are in fact all over the Philippines. There seems to be no regulations on them, because they are unmarked, no lights and are a navigation hazard. But these devices are used to attract tuna so the fishing vessels can come and collect/catch them. Actually we’ve never seen these devices anywhere in our passages but here in the PI.
Wow, I’m typing away here.. enough na.
Wow Ellen, you are a wealth of information.
I don’t eat fish myself, but my wife must have it several times a week. She even goes to the Filipino market here in town to get the “right” kind on occasion, though she also likes the salmon from Costco.
Give us a report back from when you make it down to the Mariculture Park, if you would.
More mariculture parks per this article today – http://www.gmanews.tv/story/114331/Fisheries-bureau-sets-up-more-mariculture-farms
Hi Ellen – thanks for the update. The article doesn’t say so, but I’m guessing the Samal park must be at least somewhat successful due to the fact that these are opening.