Aquaculture for all

Fisheries Center Opens Door to Investors

PHILIPPINES - The aquaculture department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in Iloilo province has opened its doors to businessmen considering investments in aquaculture under an agree-build-operate-transfer (ABOT) scheme.

The SEAFDEC said private investors could choose among eight hatchery-nursery technology packages and another eight grow-out technology packages.

In general, investments in aquaculture can range from as low as P30,000 in a catfish grow-out operation to P2 million in a freshwater prawn hatchery, with returns estimated at 50-300 percent a year.

The ABOT packages for hatchery-nursery operations include abalone; mud crab; the marine fishes grouper, milkfish, sea bass and snapper; tiger shrimp; giant freshwater prawn; catfish; tilapia; and bighead carp.

For grow-out culture packages, the technologies are for the same species as those for hatchery-nursery. Seaweed and tiger shrimp culture is also included in the grow-out packages.

The SEAFDEC said aquaculture investors would only need to do the business planning and marketing.

It said its aquaculture department would do practically everything related to making the technology work, from site selection and training technicians to on-farm assistance and project evaluation.

Source: Phillipine Daily Inquirer

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