SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department
The Philippines has the opportunity to build a high-value aquaculture industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually by farming the tropical rock lobster commonly known as the tiger lobster.
According to Prof. Clive Jones, an internationally recognized aquaculture scientist, rock lobster (Panulirus ornatus) farming in the Philippines is not just possible, it’s “just an absolute no-brainer.”
Speaking at the 31st Dean Domiciano K. Villaluz Memorial Lecture on 9 July 2025 at SEAFDEC/AQD’s Tigbauan Main Station, Prof. Jones expressed strong confidence in the Philippines’ potential to follow the success of countries like Viet Nam and Indonesia. “Rock lobster, I’m absolutely convinced would be very successful,” he said.
The keynote, titled Aquaculture of Marine Lobsters and Freshwater Crayfish in the Philippines: Opportunities to Boost Production and Livelihood, drew on Prof. Jones’ decades of research experience in tropical lobsters and freshwater crayfish.
He emphasized that while both commodities have great potential, rock lobster presents a more lucrative and lower-risk investment than crayfish, especially due to the latter’s higher value and the absence of biosecurity concerns.
Farming dollars, not protein
Unlike most aquaculture ventures focused on producing protein, tropical rock lobster farming targets prestige. “This is all driven by the Chinese market,” Prof. Jones explained. “They’re prepared to pay very high price… specifically for Panulirus ornatus.” These lobsters command farm-gate prices of US$50 to US$100 per kilo, making them “more about farming dollars.”
What makes this model particularly compelling is its impact on coastal communities. “The beautiful irony of this is that the farming is mostly performed by poorer coastal communities,” said Prof. Jones, highlighting the strong socio-economic benefits.
A sustainable natural abundance of seed
The foundation for this industry lies in “partial life cycle aquaculture,” which makes use of the naturally settling seed called puerulus—a transitional, non-feeding larval stage that swims to coastal areas in search of suitable habitat. Prof. Jones explained that more than 99% of puerulus die naturally in the wild due to exhaustion or predation. “The fishing for puerulus… has effectively developed a technique to catch these swimming seed before their inevitable death.”
Capturing puerulus is thus not only low-impact but also sustainable, especially since P. ornatus across the Indo-West Pacific comprises a single, genetically homogeneous population. Larvae spawned in Australia, for instance, can drift to the Philippines within months, completing an oceanic loop over generations.
“We established that there is a very abundant population of seed settling along the coast of the Philippines,” he said, referencing his involvement in a US-funded project from 2018 to 2020. “In fact, I think that is now expanding further north and even in Palawan.”
Even a modest collection effort, like Viet Nam’s five million puerulus catch per year, can yield 1,500 tons of lobster worth around US$100 million annually. Indonesia, now catching more than 500 million puerulus annually, has already surpassed this, while the Philippines, based on recent reports, may also have “hundreds of millions” of naturally settling seed.
A commercial hatchery is not the answer, for now
While full life-cycle aquaculture remains the ideal, Prof. Jones was candid about the high cost and technical challenges of lobster hatchery operations. He led hatchery development efforts in Australia from 2000 to 2013, which culminated in a commercial venture that closed in April 2025 after burning through millions of dollars.
“Technically they were successful. They were producing tens of thousands of puerulus,” he said. “But they just didn’t make enough money at the other end growing them out to cover the cost of running that hatchery.”
Due to high labor and system costs, “I’m afraid that in Australia at least, that’s the end of lobster hatchery,” he said, recommending the Philippines focus instead on sustainable puerulus collection and grow-out farming.
What needs to be done
Prof. Jones emphasized that the Philippines already has much of what it needs, including abundant natural seed and a locally available commercial feed. What’s missing is policy.
“There still needs to be developmental work, not so much research,” he said, “but policy and planning.” He urged the government to move forward with regulations that allow sustainable collection of puerulus.
During his previous work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Prof. Jones had already developed a 10-year roadmap to build a US$250-million lobster farming industry in the Philippines. “This road map is available for you to use as a starting point for policy and planning purposes,” he offered.
