SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department
THE PROBLEM
Lack of technical manpower to operate new government hatcheries
The government has invested on infrastructure to build aquaculture facilities around the country. However, the availability of human resources needed to operate the various hatcheries and laboratories has not caught up leaving the buildings and equipment idle while depreciating.
A similar situation is found in the private sector wherein there is difficulty in finding able technicians with the right skills who can confidently contribute to productivity.
Efforts to increase enrollment in fisheries schools may not be enough as useful practical experience can only be gained when adequate and functional facilities are present. SEAFDEC/AQD is the fertile ground to jumpstart the empowerment of the next generation of aquaculture technicians.
SOLUTIONS
- Intensive hands-on training of fisheries graduates in SEAFDEC/AQD facilities
- Deployment of training graduates to operate government facilities
- Train a pool of aquaculture technicians that may be tapped by the private sector
ECONOMIC VALUE
- The 16th and 17th Philippine Congress legislated the establishment of 23 new aquaculture facilities that all need skilled and experienced manpower
- 467,000 fry worth P140,100 were produced at BFAR-5’s hatchery, only four months after training course graduates upstarted the facility
What has SEAFDEC/AQD been doing? (2018-2020)
SEAFDEC/AQD trained a batch of fisheries graduates in hatchery seed production as well as grow-out using different pond culture systems. Trainees were equipped with knowledge on the farming of shrimp, marine fish, and tilapia. Graduates of the rigorous and in-depth training are meant to be deployed to projects of SEAFDEC/AQD or be recommended to various government or non-government offices and the private business sector.
In 2018, 16 graduates from different schools in Western Visayas graduated with enhanced capabilities and broadened perspectives and experiences in shrimp and multi-species marine fish hatchery operations including cage and brackishwater pond culture operations.
After three months, the graduates were assigned to different facilities. Some graduates up-started the operation of BFAR-5’s multi-species hatchery in Sagnay, Camarines Sur in the Philippines. The hatchery produced and sold a total of 467,000 fry.
In 2020, there is a plan to conduct another training course to produce another batch of trainees. This time, fisheries graduates from different fisheries schools, mostly in Mindanao, Quezon, and Bicol area, are the target individuals for training and deployment in constructed legislated hatcheries.
