Giant freshwater prawn farming in the Philippines

Freshwater prawn thrives in inland waters like rivers, lakes, swamps, irrigation canals, estuaries and even in rivers upstream. A recent survey in Luzon Island, Philippines identified 12 species of freshwater prawn found in the island (Agasen, unpublished). The country’s interest on freshwater prawn fishery started in 1914 as explained by Cowles (1914), when the freshwater prawn was recognized as one of the important fisheries during that time. In late 1976, trials were made to culture the freshwater prawn, however, the efforts were not sustained. These trials were conducted in Misamis Oriental, Mindanao between 1976-1979 by Dejarme et al., with the collection of wild spawners and the subsequent rearing of M. rosenbergii hatchlings. In 1981, a local banker-industrialist established a 100-hectare commercial Macrobrachium farm in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija and a hatchery in Bulacan. Services of experts from Israel were tapped for the project. Marketable prawns were sold live in Metro Manila utilizing in-house retail outlets. After a few years, the company diversified their operations to include tilapia culture. However, even the diversification attempt failed to save the first venture of commercial Macrobrachium rosenbergii production in the Philippines

Genetic characterization, domestication and improvement of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the Philippines

Extensive studies in the Philippines and in adjacent countries revealed that 528 caridean prawn species are found in this region alone (Chan, 1998). Of all the known species, the giant freshwater prawn is considered the most commercially important. Except for the Philippines, culture of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, has already made substantial contributions to the local aquaculture production in Southeast Asia, i.e. in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, efforts are now being made to improve the aquaculture production of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the Philippines, thus, optimal methods for the culture and propagation of this high value freshwater aquaculture species are being developed by the Philippine Government fishery agencies as well as other research and academic institutions. The Integrated Rural Aquaculture Program under the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Special Five-Year Program or what is presently known as the Program on the Promotion of Sustainable Aquaculture in the ASEAN Region enabled the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Mindanao State University and the Aquaculture Department of SEAFDEC to jointly conduct studies on the genetic characterization, domestication and improvement of Macrobrachium rosenbergii stocks in the Philippines in order to improve the aquaculture production of the giant freshwater prawn. Under the collaborative project which started in late 2004, specific research activities under were conducted, and an update on their results are summarized

Culture of giant freshwater prawn: Philippines.

Freshwater prawn thrives in inland bodies of water like rivers, lakes, swamps, irrigation canals, estuaries and even in rivers upstream. More than 100 species were reported to exist worldwide. A recent survey in Luzon Island, Philippines identified 12 species of freshwater prawn found in the island. The country’s interest on freshwater prawn fishery started in 1914 as explained by Cowles (1914), when he identified that freshwater prawn was one of the important fisheries during that time. Likewise, he discussed the geographical distribution of the species, the value of fishery and biology. In late 1976, trials were conducted to culture the freshwater prawn, however, the studies were never sustained. For these trials, the collection of wild spawners and larval rearing of M. rosenbergii was conducted in Misamis Oriental, Mindanao between 1976-1979 by Dejarme et al. Post larval stage was attained but larval rearing lasted only for 39 days. There were more attempts in the past to adopt the technology for the propagation of the species but the efforts never progressed beyond research at institution level. In 1981, a local banker-industrialist established a 100-hectare commercial Macrobrachium farm in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija and a hatchery in Bulacan. Services of experts from Israel were utilized for the project. Marketable prawns were sold live in Metro Manila utilizing in-house retail outlets. After a few years, the company diversified their operations to include tilapia culture. However, even the diversification failed to save the first commercial production venture of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the Philippines

Collection of wild stocks, domestication and propagation of Macrobrachium rosenbergii

There is an expanding interest in the culture of freshwater prawn in the Philippines. This is attributed to the extensive campaign of the government, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and some private entrepreneurs to disseminate information and seeds of the prawn nationwide. Although freshwater aquaculture in the Philippines is still dominated by tilapia, which is an exotic fish, the profit from tilapia culture is not well appreciated except for family consumption or nutrition purposes. The freshwater prawn, an indigenous species, remains to be an important species. With freshwater prawn as an alternative species, farmers can diversify and derive higher profit from their ponds. In the Philippines, Macrobrachium rosenbergii stocked in 2,000 m2 ponds may grow to about 45 g after four months and 90 to 100 g in seven months of culture (Rosario, 2002). The price of the species is five times higher than tilapia. During the first Round Table Discussion on the Development of Genetically Improved Strain of Macrobrachium held at the Freshwater Aquaculture Development Center, Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia in November 2003, the delegates from Thailand reported that the Philippine wild stocks of Macrobrachium, M. rosenbergii rosenbergii Philippine strain could be a better variety and therefore must be protected from contamination by non-indigenous strains. The report supports and confirms the importance of the activity of the National Integrated Fisheries and Development Center (NIFTDC) to collect live specimens of various strains of Macrobrachium in the country and review their performance in terms of growth and fecundity

Status of P. vannamei aquaculture in the Philippines.

Shrimp industry in the Philippines refers only to P. monodon, the only penaeid species being exported abroad. It is grown almost all over the country from Northern Luzon to Southernmost part of Mindanao. The culture of tiger prawn locally known as “sugpo” started as a secondary species since only small quantity could be harvested with milkfish. Although growing of this shrimp could be as old as milkfish, it was only in 1951 when it was considered as primary species. Dependent on seed stocks from the natural wild fry, it is on this year when the first propagation of P. monodon in brackishwater grow out pond was documented. Its full commercialization, however, was realized in the 1980’s where it had to wait for the hatchery technology in order to meet the national production demand. Below is the development history of the tiger prawn industry in the Philippines

Identification and Salinity Tolerance of the Western Hemisphere Mussel Mytella charruana (D\u27Orbigny, 1842) in the Philippines

Beginning in 2014, mussels have been found by shellfishers in parts of the Philippines that are morphologically distinct from native mytilids. These mussels, with a thick black periostracum, were first found in Manila Bay near an international shipping port, and later in 2014 appeared in western Tambac Bay (approximately 16.28° N, 119.9° E). The next year (July 2015), they were found near the village of Tucok (Dagupan City; 16.0272° N, 120.3147° E), and more recently (early 2016) they have been observed in Longos, San Fabian, Pangasinan (16.1887, 120.4043). About 50 mussels from Tucok were preserved in 95% ethanol and sent to the University of Maine for genetic evaluation. Sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I polymerase chain reaction products identified the nonnative mussels as Mytella charruana, the charru mussel, native to the tropical Caribbean and western Pacific coasts of South America. Further analysis indicates that populations on the Caribbean Coast of South America are the likely source of the Philippine charru mussels. Two salinity tolerance experiments were also conducted; in the first experiment, Philippine charru mussels were conditioned at salinity 5 (similar to the salinity of the collection site) for 7 days, then subjected to a salinity shock by directly transferring them to different salinity levels (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35) for 12 days. In the second experiment, replicate groups of mussels were conditioned in 30 salinity, then for each replicate, salinity was gradually increased by five increments every 5 days until all mussels had died. In both the experiments, all mussels survived at salinities below 35. In the rapid salinity change trial, byssus formation was absent in mussels subjected to salinity 35 shock, and all mussels in this treatment died before the end of the experiment. In the acclimation trial, some mussels survived to salinity 60, but were inactive, and all died when salinity reached 65. These salinity shock and acclimation trials suggest that charru mussels may be best suited to Philippine waters during and after the monsoonal rainy seasons when salinities are routinely below 35, and may be spread among different estuaries via larval transport during the monsoonal rainy season. On the basis of these criteria, charru mussels may be a potential species for aquaculture complementing the culture of the native Perna viridis, a species with a higher preferred salinity that is traditionally cultured in the dry season

Philippine freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium spp.)

This manual provides information on the biology, morphology, natural distribution, habitat, and economic importance of 22 notable species of Macrobrachium in the Philippines

Culture guide of Penaeus vannamei using pond liner to mitigate the effects of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND)

This manual aims to share the methodologies leading to the success of shrimp farming operations. It is a work in progress to be regularly updated as new techniques are developed to deal with future challenges and diseases that will affect the shrimp industry