BFAR to commercialize abalone, blue crab in EV
TACLOBAN CITY-The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will push through for commercialization of abalone and blue crab in 2010 after it was successfully grown in the region through technology demonstration this year.
BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said that these aquamarine products are of high value but it only requires low cost input, which is suitable to fisher folks without capital.
“We are looking for commercialization of these products next year with the expansion of hatcheries in 2009. There’s no problem with market,” Albaladejo told Leyte Samar Daily Express.
The official noted that there has been a dwindling catch in seas for abalone due to overfishing, which aggravates to high trading price. “It is best if we will go into aquaculture on this.”
To raise abalone, fishermen will need to culture glacilaria, a genus of red algae. Blue crab, on the other hand, only requires small fishes and plants for feeding.
In preparation for commercialization next year, BFAR earlier set up seaweed culture in Basey, Samar Mariculture Park. The agency also put in place tanks that can reproduce 40,000 to 50,000 juveniles of abalone.
“This abalone in our techno demo farms has more meat than shell,” Albaladejo explained. Studies have been concentrated in the towns of Basey, Samar and Laoang, Northern Samar.
The potential of abalone in the region’s seawater has been observed by BFAR in their station in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
According to Seafood Network Information, abalones are members of a large class (Gastropoda) of molluscs having one-piece shells. They belong to the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis, which means sea ear, referring to the flattened shape of the shell.
Blue crab raising, on the other hand, is being tapped during off season of milkfish from November to February of each year. “We’ve been campaigning to potential growers to start establishing ponds, cages, and build compartments to accommodate crablets,” he added.
Studies show that blue crab catch in the Philippines is steadily declining in volume and crab-size due to the serious depletion of the breeding stock of crabs. Catchers currently use gill nets, an inconsistent and non-selective fishing method that does not allow for the return to sea of juvenile crabs that have not yet reached sexual maturity.
It takes eight months to raise abalone while blue crab needs four months in a pond before harvest.
The two aquamarine products are mainly intended for export because of its high demand and high price abroad.
“We are the pilot region in this venture. Fisherfolks need a share in mariculture zones. They are our priority in this project,” Albaladejo claimed. (SARWELL Q. MENIANO)
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