2.1 Characteristics of production in the region
2.2 Regional production data
2.3 Production systems and practices in the region
2.4 Producers in the region
2.5 Organization of producers
2.6 Financial investment by public and private enterprises
2.7 Technical assistance projects in the sub-sector
2.8 Capital assistance projects in the sub-sector
Aquaculture production in the East Asia region (which describes Brunei Darussalem, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, DPR Korea, RO Korea, Macau, Mongolia, the Philippines, Taiwan PC, and Viet Nam) is steeped in tradition and skill. Modern technologies are rapidly adapted to overcome any apparent constraints for development. Although there have been characteristics of production in historical perspective, these do not influence development in the future for most of the countries. China, and to a lesser extent Laos and Viet Nam, are cases in point. For centuries these countries have developed freshwater fish culture practices, well suited to the geography of each, with large rivers and flood plains and a predominantly rural population. As urban development progresses, particularly in China, intensive systems and integrated practices have been developed close to communities to meet large demands for fresh live fish. Only in the last two decades has interest spread to more high-value marine species, particularly crustaceans and molluscs, but these countries have resources of brackishwater estuaries and flat coastal areas for marine culture in addition to opportunities for culture-based fisheries.
Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan PC, on the other hand, have traditions in marine and brackishwater culture. These have been compelled, for the most part, by their insular geography and size, and urban and industrial concentrations of population. Any traditional interest in freshwater species has been by the Japanese in the production of salmonids. In the last two decades intensive culture systems in freshwater have proved to be opportunities for growth, and these have been taken, particularly in the Philippines with developments in net pens and cages in inland lakes, and in Taiwan PC for eels.
The two Koreas have more similarities with Japan than China in their backgrounds with marine species, but on a much smaller scale. Their coastal waters are colder and without much protection. Resources for freshwater culture are poor; the rivers are small with short runs, and the indigenous species are few. On the other hand Hong Kong, in spite of its size and high population density, has inherited the traditions of fish culture from the Chinese and much has been made of the limited resources. It has the advantage of a tropical climate (as does Macau) which suits intensive freshwater production systems. In spite of the competition for coastal space Hong Kong has reserved a number of protected areas for marine culture among its islands.
As described in the introduction to this survey, East Asia has a long tradition in aquaculture; China has been practising culture for about 4 000 years in harmony with a traditional rural-agrarian economy, and countries like the Philippines and Japan have a tradition of some 300 or 400 years.
It is speculated that the techniques for keeping fish in ponds originated in China with fishermen who kept their surplus catch alive temporarily in baskets submerged in rivers or small bodies of water created by damming one side of a river bed. Another possibility is that aquaculture developed from ancient practices for trapping fish; these simple operations steadily improved from trapping-holding to trapping-holding-growing, and finally into complete husbandry practices. Chinese who emigrated to other Southeast Asian countries probably carried the knowledge with them and inspired the local people to take up fish farming.
From such beginnings aquaculture has developed in many countries in the region into a high-technology industry, employing modern techniques and methods, and making use of a variety of production inputs to produce high-value commodities. However, even in those countries where aquaculture is now practised using a high level of technology, traditional and low technology culture are still used.
Aquaculture systems and practices in the region range from the traditional/extensive, no-input system to low-, medium-, and high-input systems. Production units include fish ponds, both freshwater and brackishwater/marine; fish pens and fish cages; and mariculture units like rafts, lines, and stakes for mollusc and seaweed culture. (Information on aquaculture production in the region is summarized in Annex I, Table 5)
East Asia occupies a prominent position in world aquaculture, producing some 6.5 million t equivalent to 63% of total global aquaculture production in 1985, and accounting for about 26% of total fish production in the region. Of this total China contributes some 2.78 million t representing 24.8%. Other large producers are Japan with 1.2 million t, DPR Korea with 809 000 t, Republic of Korea with 790 200 t, and the Philippines with 495 000 t. The combined production of these five countries is equivalent to 93.5% of the region's production from aquaculture in 1985 (see Annex I, Table 6).
Aquaculture production in East Asia has grown from 2.6 million t in 1975 (or 13.3% of total fish production) to 6.5 million t (26%) in 1985. This represents an increase of 60% over a 10-year period. All of the countries in the region registered significant increases in production from 1975 to 1985, with growth rates ranging from 30% in Japan to 78% in the Philippines.
Of the large total regional production from aquaculture, freshwater finfish comprise the largest percentage. Seaweeds, molluscs, and crustaceans comprise the other major commodity groups. In some countries, shrimp aquaculture showed the fastest growth, with that of Taiwan PC growing at a phenomenal 1 023% per year from 1975 to 1985.
In the Philippines aquaculture out-performed both commercial and municipal capture fisheries in terms of growth rate from 1977 to 1986. At 12.5%, the rate of growth of the aquaculture sub-sector was substantially higher than those of commercial (0.6%) and municipal capture (inland 9.6%; marine 1.4%) fisheries. Worldwide the Philippines ranks fifth in overall aquaculture production, with almost 500 000 t of fishery products valued at US$ 4.4 billion in 1986.
Aquaculture in marine waters showed the highest production growth rate (10.2%) while brackishwater culture grew by 3.5%; freshwater farming registered a negative growth due mainly to the reduction of fish pen hectarage in Laguna Lake. In terms of value however, brackishwater farming outperformed marine culture, as shrimps command higher prices than most marine species.
In China the total production from aquaculture in 1987 was 4.58 million t, of which 3.48 million t came from freshwater aquaculture and 1.10 million t from marine and brackishwater aquaculture. Of the total freshwater production, some 2.617 million t were obtained from pond culture, 207 000 t from lakes, 378 000 t from reservoirs; 219 000 t from rivers and small waterways; 106 000 t from paddy fields; and 53 000 t from other sources. The production from marine culture consisted mainly of seaweeds, which accounted for about 23.7% of the marine harvest; shrimps; molluscs (including scallops, mussels, and oysters); and finfish.
Aquaculture production in the Republic of Korea comes mostly from marine culture. In 1985 seaweeds gave the highest production at 397 000 t (of which sea mustard or Undaria was the most important at 256 900 t or 65% of total seaweed production). This was followed by mollusc production at 369 000 t, the bulk of which comprised oysters (at 242 000 t or 66% of total). Marine finfish (mainly yellowtail or Seriola quinqueradiata) yielded 1 413 t, and peneid shrimps about 90 t.
Japan produced about 1.2 million t of aquaculture products in 1985, roughly 10% of total Japanese fish production and 21% by value. Marine culture is the most important sub-sector, with the production from seven major commodities (oyster, Porphyra, yellowtail, red sea bream, Undaria, Laminaria, and scallop) altogether contributing about 77% of the entire income from marine products in 1984.
Freshwater culture, while exhibiting a slower development compared with marine culture, produced some US$ 786 million worth of products in 1984. About 90% of these earnings are contributed by four main species: rainbow trout, "ayu", common carp, and eel.
In Taiwan PC, the dramatic growth of the shrimp culture industry has pushed production from the brackishwater sub-sector ahead of freshwater aquaculture, which dominated production some years ago. In 1986 Taiwan PC produced some 45 000 t of shrimps, compared with a low 1 390 t in 1977.
Freshwater aquaculture in Taiwan PC is also important, contributing about 27.2% to total fish production in 1978. This consists mainly of Chinese carps, tilpias, and eel. In the same year marine culture in Taiwan PC accounted for about 26.3% of total aquaculture production, consisting mainly of oysters and clams.
In comparison to the foregoing countries with large aquaculture production volumes, Hong Kong and Viet Nam gave relatively small yields of 213 600 and 204 500 t respectively in 1985. Hong Kong produces mostly Chinese carps, tilapia, and grey mullet from its freshwater polyculture, and marine finfish, molluscs, and shrimps from marine culture. In 1983, marine culture earned for Hong Kong US$ 64 million from 960 t of fish and fishery products. In Viet Nam freshwater culture is the more dominant sub-sector, producing mainly Chinese carps, tilapias, catfish, and Macrobrachium. Brackishwater shrimp culture is rapidly developing, with the 1984 production of farmed penaeid shrimps estimated at 10 000 to 20 000 t.
In Brunei the contribution of aquaculture to national fish production is insignificant. Although aquaculture has been tried as early as 1965 little progress has been made; aquaculture at present is still best described as being in the experimental or pilot-stage of development. Freshwater fish ponds were constructed by the Government in 1966 but these have failed to stimulate private interest. Experimental fish cage culture of sea bass and grouper, as well as the culture of mussels, have been initiated with positive prospects.
In Laos fish pond culture started in the mid-60s and production has grown by an average of 30% per year, the highest in Asia from 1975 to 1985. Production is mainly from polyculture of carps in small home lots.
Hardly any information is available on the fisheries (more so, aquaculture) of Macau and Mongolia.
The species of fish, shellfish, and seaweeds occurring throughout the region are more or less the same, but each country has developed the culture of fish most familiar within its borders.
In landlocked Laos the principal species culture are the Chinese carps (bighead, Aristichthys nobilis; silver, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix; grass, Ctenopharyngodon idella; common, Cyprinus carpio); Indian carps (roho, Labeo rohita; mrigal, Cirrhina mrigal; catla, Catla catla); and the tilapias (Oreochromis mossambicus and O. niloticus). Production from carp polyculture in fish ponds has been shown to reach 5 t/ha/yr, with large inputs.
In Viet Nam the main culture species include the Chinese carps (grass, silver, bighead), rohu, tilapia, catfish (Pangasius sutchi), snakeheads (Ophicephalus spp. and Channa spp.), gouramis (Helostoma temmincki and Osphronemus gouramy), barbs (Barbus and Leptobarbus) and the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. In polyculture production from these species ranges from 3-15 t/ha/yr, while monoculture of catfish yields 10-30 t/ha/yr. In cages "production ranges from 20-150 kg/m3.
Major brackishwater species include the finfish, milkfish (Chanos chanos) and mullet (Mugil spp.); the crustaceans Penaeus monodon, P. merguiensis, and Metapenaeus ensis; the molluscs Mytilus smaragdinus (mussel), Ostrea rivularia (oyster), and Andara granosa (cockle); and seaweeds belonging to the genus Gracilaria. In riceland areas of the Mekong Delta typical yields of 200-250 kg/ha are obtained from the trapping-holding-growing system of culture, and about 150 kg/ha of fish and crustaceans and 3 t rice/ha from the rice-fish/shrimp rotation method.
Hong Kong farms mainly Chinese carps and grey mullet in fresh water; oysters of the genus Crassostrea; shrimps (mainly P. japonicus); and various finfish - groupers of the genus Epinephelus, sea bream (Rhabdosargus sarga), red pargo (Chrysophrys major), snapper (Lutjanus spp.) and sea bass (Lates calcarifer) - in sea water. Average yields from freshwater fish ponds are 4.2 t/ha/yr, and from marine culture 39 t/raft area/yr.
Taiwan PC is a large producer of milkfish (Chanos chanos) and has the highest yields per hectare, although it farms only small areas and must contend with three winter months during which the milkfish cannot grow. Taiwan PC is also credited with pioneering work on the induced spawning and production of fry and fingerlings of grey mullet and milkfish, and the completion of the life history and production of post-larvae of several important cultured penaeid shrimps.
Taiwan PC is also famous for extensive oyster farming and well developed polyculture systems, including the integration of fish with poultry and/or other animal husbandry. Eel culture has also been successfully developed within a short period of less than 20 years. Carp polyculture yields 3-6 t/ha/yr on average and integrated fish farming gives yields of 6 t/ha/yr with manuring, and 10 t/ha/yr with supplemental feeding. Intensive eel culture produces 10 t/ha/yr, and the culture of Macrobrachium gives yields of more than 2 t/ha/crop of six months.
Like Taiwan PC the Philippines farms milkfish, penaeid shrimps (mainly P. monodon and secondarily P. merguiensis and P. indicus) and tilapia (O. niloticus and O. mossambicus/O. niloticus hybrids). The Philippines also cultures seaweeds (mainly of the genus Eucheuma) and oysters and green mussels (Perna viridis). Carp culture is still in its infancy and development is constrained by poor market acceptability. In 1986 the national average brackishwater fish pond production was 1 t/ha/yr. High yields of 3-8 t of penaeid shrimps per hectare per crop are obtained from intensive culture in certain areas of the country, notably Panay Island in the Visayas. Yields from freshwater fish ponds are, on the average, similar to those from brackishwater ponds at 1.16 t/ha/yr. By comparison the average yield from freshwater fish pens and cages is 2-3 t/ha/yr, two or three times that from freshwater fish ponds in the country.
In China ten freshwater species predominate. These include the Chinese carps (grass, silver, and bighead), wuchang fish (Megalobrama amblyocephala), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), mud carp (Cirrhina molitorella), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), and tilapia (O. mossambicus, O. niloticus, and O. aureus). When reared in polyculture these species give production volumes ranging from 1.3 to 7.5 t/ha/yr in intensive systems. Other culture species include grouper, sea bass, sea bream, grey mullet, and Mugil soiuy, with the latter and sea bream successfully propagated using artificial methods.
Farmed tropical shrimp in China belong to the following species: P. orientalis, P. penicillatus, P. japonicus, and P. monodon. Major seaweed species are the kelp (Laminaria) and laver (Porphyra). In 1987 China farmed 87 000 t of shrimps. In 1986 some 230 000 t of scallops were harvested as well as 100 000 t of mussels.
In Japan the following seven species comprise the most important for marine culture purposes: the Japanese oyster (C. gigas); "nori" or laver, a red alga (Porphyra); yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata); red sea bream (Pagrus major); "wakame" or sea mustard (Undaria); "konbu" or kelp, a brown alga (Laminaria); and scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis). Altogether they contributed 77% of the entire income from Japanese marine products in 1984.
On the other hand the following four major freshwater species contributed about 90% of the US$ 786 million earned from freshwater culture in 1984; rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri); "ayu", a salmonid (Pleoglossus altivelis); common carp (Cyprinus carpio); and eel (Anguilla spp.).
In Republic of Korea the seaweeds (laver, sea mustard, kelp, and some minor species like Chondrus, Gigartina, and Gelidium), and molluscs (mainly oysters, cockles, mussels, and short-necked clams of the genus Venerupis japonicus) are cultured in marine waters, as are some penaeids (P. japonicus, P. orientalis) and marine fish (yellowtail and sea bream). Freshwater species farmed are mainly the common carp, the rainbow trout, and the eel.
Aquaculture, or the controlled rearing of selected animals or plants in aquatic environments, involves the manipulation of certain components of the environment to enhance production and produce harvests in greater quantities than are produced naturally.
Production technologies are determined by the interaction of five factors: the physical environment, culture facilities, available nutrient inputs, species feasible for culture, and the ability of the producers to balance all the factors in a profitable package. While the physical environment is essentially fixed, it can be modified or somehow manipulated to make it suit the biological requirements of the culture organism. The degree of manipulation of the environment, together with the level of inputs introduced into the system, are the principal determinants of the level of technology employed in aquaculture. On this basis aquaculture is usually classified as traditional or extensive, semi-intensive, or intensive.
The level of management (e.g. aeration, feeding, water change) and the quantity of inputs (e.g. fingerlings, feeds, fertilizers, pesticides) increase from the traditional/extensive to semi-intensive and intensive culture. The degree of sophistication of the culture facilities also increases as the technology intensifies.
Different levels of management exist in most of the countries but practised in varying proportions from country to country according to the technology and skill available. For example, in Taiwan PC aquaculture is mostly intensive, both in freshwater and brackishwater/marine environments, using above-ground concrete tanks and aerators, pumps, and automatic feeding machines, and producing high yields of fish and shrimps. In contrast, brackishwater fish pond culture in Viet Nam typically uses the trapping-holding-growing practice in large and extensive tidal ponds, which yield about 200-500 kg/ha of finfish and shrimp in almost equal proportions.
The change from extensive to intensive systems developed gradually with the development of technology relative to artificial seed production and feed formulation, without which intensive culture is difficult to sustain. In Taiwan PC the shift from extensive to intensive culture was spurred by the breakthrough in the artificial propagation of shrimps. Before this P. monodon juveniles were collected and stocked together with milkfish fry in extensive coastal ponds, as in the Philippines and Indonesia. The ponds were relatively large (1-3 ha) and shallow (30-40 cm) and entirely dependent on tidal interchange. Shrimp was a by-product with yields fluctuating between 10-100 kg/ha, depending on the stocking rate of collected juveniles.
With the success of artificial propagation of shrimp post larvae and the commercialization of shrimp hatchery technology, the extensive ponds are now sub-divided into small, 0.25-0.5 ha units and provided with pumps and aeration to improve management. The feed was first only trash fish, then mussel meat and small Acetes shrimps, and now with formulated feeds which took five years to develop. By 1985 production of market sized shrimps reached 31 000 t, and in 1987 Taiwan PC exported some 50 000 t to Japan.
The same pattern of development is evident in the other countries in the region which now practise intensive farming. In the Philippines increasingly large areas of existing traditionally/extensively operated milkfish ponds are being converted into more productive shrimp monoculture ponds using hatchery-bred shrimp post-larvae and commercially available shrimp feeds, and using paddlewheels and pumps for more efficient water management. Yields from these ponds have consequently increased from a low of 200-400 kg/ha about a decade ago to as high as 8 t/ha/crop from highly intensive ponds at present.
In Japan innovation has likewise been the key to increased harvests and incomes. Technology on the artificial propagation of red sea bream in 1975 resulted in rapid increases in yield; the development of pen culture in 1965 markedly increased yields of yellowtail; and hanging methods of oyster culture have made it one of the most successful aquaculture methods. In China rapid progress in marine culture has been made after the successful breeding of major farmed species, including Mugil soiuy and sea bream, and the introduction of culture techniques.
On the other hand the level of technology used in other countries of the region either remains low, as in Laos and Vietnam, or is still in an experimental stage, as in Brunei, or is non-existent, as in Macau and Mongolia.
Aquaculture in the region is practised in fresh, brackish, and marine waters using a variety of production facilities and methods. Freshwater culture is carried out in fish ponds and in fish cages and pens in lakes and reservoirs, as well as in paddy fields, and either in monoculture or polyculture, and integrated with animal husbandry and crop farming. Marine and brackishwater culture for finfish and shrimps is practised in floating cages in bays or coves in coastal areas; and mollusc and seaweed culture in bays using various techniques (e.g. hanging, bottom, stake methods, or cage culture).
In China and Hong Kong Chinese carps and tilapias are grown in polyculture in fish ponds, and usually integrated with animal husbandry and crop farming. About 75% of China's freshwater aquaculture production is obtained from pond culture, 90% of which is linked with crops and animals and giving yields exceeding 13 t/ha/yr using up to nine species of fish in a single pond at one time. In Hong Kong 85% of total freshwater pond production uses polyculture, with about 80% of the farms integrated with duck farming, which is popular because of its greater productivity of 9 t/ha compared with 2.3 t geese and 2.6 t pigs per ha.
In China about 25% of the freshwater fish production is obtained from pens and cages in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and paddy fields. In lakes and reservoirs, fish are produced by either cove culture, wherein fry are first released into netted-off areas of coves and then released into the reservoir when they reach 15 cm, or by cage culture using floating cages without supplemental feeding.
Viet Nam also practises polyculture of Chinese carps in fish ponds integrated with pig, duck, and crop farming. Yields of 3-15 t/ha/yr from polyculture have been reported. In Laos freshwater finfish are produced mostly from polyculture in small fish ponds using traditional methods. In some cases high yields of up to 5 t/ha/yr have been shown possible with the use of large inputs.
Cage culture is also common in Viet Nam with catfish, snakehead, and grass and common carps. In rice fields and reservoirs, especially in the Mekong Delta, fish and shrimps are grown; they enter when the fields are flooded and are normally harvested with the rice. In many areas the fields have an adjoining pond which collects the fish as the water level drops. Yields are low at 10 kg/ha/yr.
In the Philippines, Japan, and Republic of Korea, on the other hand, freshwater culture is mostly practised in monoculture and hardly, if ever, integrated with crops or animals.
In the Philippines the greater volume of freshwater fish production is obtained from cage and pen culture of tilapia and milkfish in Laguna de Bay, the country's largest freshwater lake, and only minimally from freshwater fish ponds. Tilapia and milkfish reared in pens and cages utilize the natural food available in the lake and are seldom given any supplemental feeding.
The culture of marine and brackishwater organisms is carried out in coastal fish ponds or in bays using a variety of methods depending on the species being cultured.
Pond culture is usually practised for marine finfish like milkfish, either alone or in polyculture with shrimps, or with other species like tilapia, as in the Philippines and Taiwan PC, and mullets in Taiwan PC and Viet Nam. It is also the principal practice of rearing penaeid shrimps using different levels of management described earlier.
Marine finfish are also cultured in floating cages, as in Hong Kong for groupers, sea bass, sea bream, and other marine species, and Republic of Korea for yellowtail and black sea bream.
Mollusc culture is carried out in a variety of practices. In Japan scallops and oysters have established settling areas for spat, or are artificially seeded in natural fishing grounds. In Hong Kong oysters are cultured using the traditional bottom method, and in the Philippines using hanging, raft, or stake methods.
Seaweeds are mostly farmed using the net method, as for laver, and a longline hanging method for kelp and sea mustard in Republic of Korea. Kelp is also cultured on floating rafts, as in China.
Information on the total hectarage under aquaculture production in the different countries of the region is by no means complete. Available data indicate however that the present area now being utilized for aquaculture is, in most instances, a small portion of the total resource with potential for further development. Also, the proportion of freshwater to marine culture area varies with the different countries covered. China, for example, utilizes a total of more than 3.94 million ha of freshwater area for aquaculture, including 1.39 million ha of fish ponds; 646 000 ha of lakes; 1.43 million ha of reservoirs; 324 667 ha of small waterways; 80 000 ha of paddy fields; and 64 000 ha of other areas. By comparison, only 368 666 ha of coastal areas are used for marine culture. It is estimated that a total of 70 000 ha of marine shrimp farms are operational in China with an annual production of about 60 000-90 000 t. A large number of these shrimp farms are found in the Bohai Gulf area. Hainan Island as well as Guangdong and Fujian provinces are likewise actively developing large-scale semi-intensive culture of P. monodon and P. orientalis. In southern China, shrimp farming is done mostly in semi-intensive earthen ponds.
Japan on the other hand uses 1.92 million ha of coastal area for marine culture and only about 500 ha for freshwater culture. Japan has 100 shrimp farms, of which 40% are semi-intensive, 50% intensive, and 10% super-intensive, mostly located around Kagoshima and on the Sete Island Sea, the Amakusa Island, and the Rynkyn Island.
In the Philippines brackishwater fish ponds occupy some 210 320 ha, and freshwater fish ponds only about 13 400 ha. Shrimp farms number approximately 2 000 with a total operational area of about 16 500 ha and an annual tails-on production of 30 000 t. Of these farms 51% are extensive, 45% semi-intensive, and 4% intensive. 40% are located in Luzon, 35% in the Visayas, and 25% in Mindanao.
Taiwan PC has 5 000 shrimp farms and 10 000 ha in production. Five per cent of the farms are extensive, 10% semi-intensive, 70% intensive, and 15% super-intensive (with production levels exceeding 12 t/ha/y).
With the exception of China, DPR Korea, and Viet Nam, where large numbers of fish farms are operated by the State, in the region the bulk of aquaculture activities is in the hands of the private sector. Aquaculture offers many opportunities for employment - either directly in fish farming (as fish pond/fish pen/cage operators, caretakers, construction workers, pump tenders, machine operators, harvesters) or indirectly as employees in related or ancillary industries (as net manufacturers, boat-makers, fry gatherers, bamboo suppliers, etc.)
The number of people directly involved in aquaculture production in the region is, however, difficult to estimate for lack of statistical information from most of the countries. The following examples give an indication of the number of producers in East Asia. China has about 22 000 township and village-operated fish farms with a total of 340 000 people and 1 200 state-operated fish farms (1 000 freshwater and 200 marine) with a total of 10 000 personnel. In Japan the 1.92 million ha of marine culture area are run by 62 497 establishments employing 95 612 persons, and the 500 hectares of freshwater area are operated by some 4 800 establishments engaging about 26 000 people. In the Philippines it is estimated that each hectare of fish pond needs the services of one person. Thus, the total aquaculture area of about 250 000 ha employs an equivalent number of people.
Most of the producers in the region organize themselves into private fish farmer associations or cooperatives for availing themselves of certain benefits which are not accessible to individual farmers; for example, financial assistance from governments is often available to cooperatives but not to individuals. This is particularly true for government development projects which aim at socio-economic advancement of small-scale fish farmers in depressed rural communities. It is also more convenient for post-harvest and export marketing services if producers are organized into cooperatives because minimum quantities are usually required, especially for export shipments.
Fish farmers' cooperatives usually promote the interest of their members, maintain liaison with government agencies concerned, provide technical assistance and guidance in various production and marketing aspects, and in some cases provide financial or credit assistance to its members. In Taiwan PC the producers' associations also set up warehouses, cold storages, and ice plants for use of their members.
In Japan there are some 4 000 fisheries cooperatives, most of which are multipurpose organizations engaged in marketing, credit, supply, and other service activities. These cooperatives form federations at the prefectural level, which in turn organize into a national apex federation, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, which actively represents the interests of the producers. In addition there is the Japan Fisheries Association, a private, non-profit, corporate entity which represents the entire fisheries industry, with members from Japanese major fisheries companies, fisheries associations, and fisheries-related industries such as marketing, processing, and net manufacture.
In the Philippines a number of interest groups exist within the private sector, among which are the communities of artisanal fishermen, the commercial fishermen, the aquaculturists, and people in the ancillary industries (fish traders, retail distributors, processors, equipment suppliers, and operators of ice plants, refrigerated storages, and transport facilities). As in Japan Filipino fish farmers in various production centres usually organize into small cooperatives and/or associations, which in turn group themselves into a larger organization at the provincial or regional level. The various provincial and regional associations then group themselves into a national federation whose officers serve to liaise with National Government officials and other private sector organizations. The federations promote the interests of the private sector and participate in fisheries programme planning, management, and conservation. They also serve as lobby groups working for specific goals beneficial to their members. At present, for example, the aquaculture federations are actively supporting the establishment of a new Department of Fisheries which they think will bring more benefits to their sub-sector.
In China fish production is now organized under the contract system. Since 1983, the State neither puts forward a fixed price nor a fixed quota for the producers, and the production units, including individuals, can sell their fish freely, according to the market price.
It is difficult to make an estimate of the level of investment in aquaculture production, both by public and private entities, in the region, but it is evident from the number and scale of existing and proposed projects that there has been an upsurge of investment in this sector since a decade ago. In general most of the production facilities in the various countries in the region have been constructed with private capital, or through loans to private individuals and/or corporations from commercial banks or government financial institutions.
Investment by the public sector has involved mainly the construction and operation of selected production centres or facilities which have served to stimulate interest of the private sector in similar ventures. For example, governments in the region have invested in demonstration farms for both finfish or shrimps. In most cases, however, public investment in aquaculture production comes mainly in the form of financial assistance to the private sector in capital investment. Financial assistance is largely by way of providing loan/credit facilities to fish farmers for the development and operation of fish ponds, fish pens and cages, and related support facilities.
In some instances governments, through a corporation, directly undertake production either individually or in joint venture with a private party. The Japan Fish Farming Association, for example, is a semi-governmental organization responsible for the shrimp post-larvae production and the operation of twelve fish farming centres. Prefectural governments operate 37 other fish farming centres.
In China the National Fisheries Corporation (CNFC) is the largest State-owned combination enterprise engaged in aquatic production. It has formed 104 joint ventures in 18 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities throughout China, forming a complete system of production, management, and marketing, starting from propagation, breeding and seeding, and rearing of freshwater fish to market size. CNFC also operates jointly with provincial aquaculture companies in coastal provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, and 42 other county companies, the establishment of a number of prawn farms, juvenile fish farms, fish feed factories, and processing plants. Their aquaculture products are marketed not only locally but are also exported. CNFC has interests in three fisheries companies which have their own processing factories in charge of post-harvest processing of the aquaculture products of these joint ventures, as well as those from other sources. Moreover, CNFC operates seven aquaculture product trading companies, and supply and market stores dealing in marine and freshwater products, processed aqua-products, and other commodities.
In the Republic of Korea the Agriculture and Fisheries Development Corporation founded in 1967 operates autonomously with an equity position in all its subsidiaries, and provides services in financing, marketing, and research. One of its two components is the Korea Aquaculture Company Limited with a capitalization of Won 100 million, which is engaged in the production and marketing of cultured shrimps, laver, and hard clams.
More often than not governments of the region do not compete with the private sector in commercial production. The burden is therefore borne by the private sector. In most countries aquaculture has developed to its high level mainly through private interest and initiative, and sometimes despite the lack of government support. The scale of private investment varies with the scope and magnitude of each project, the level of technology employed, and the type of entity (individual or corporate, national or multinational) involved, among others.
It is now increasingly common to find aquaculture projects owned or operated by private joint ventures involving local and foreign partners, with the foreign investors usually providing part of the development and operating costs and the local partner providing the land/site and part of the operating cost as equity. This is true not only in such capitalistic societies as the Philippines and Taiwan PC, but also in the centralized economy countries, like China, which now has existing joint ventures with foreign investors from New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, France and the United States.
In the Philippines large private Filipino and multinational companies have invested hundreds of millions of pesos and dollars in the establishment of shrimp farms in various areas. For example, the San Miguel Corporation, one of the leading Filipino corporations, was among the first to invest in intensive shrimp farming in the country, thus triggering the rapid development of the industry in recent years. A number of large private companies have followed suit, many with development funds from their parent companies in the USA, Japan, and Europe. For example, Dole Packaged Foods Company, a subsidiary of Castle and Cooke, USA, is developing over 150 ha of shrimp ponds in South Cotabato in the island of Mindanao, southern Philippines. Mitsui Norin Marine Products Ltd. of Japan has invested in a 500 ha integrated shrimp culture project of the House of Investments, a large Filipino conglomerate, in Zamboanga del Sur, also in Mindanao. Pure Foods Corporation, a Filipino meat processing company, has put up a shrimp farm partially funded by USA-based Geo. Hormel and Company.
A number of other such projects are started or are in the pipeline, and cover various production processes and different culture organisms, including those which support the culture of the principal marketable species. For example, Aqua Industrial Center, Inc., a joint project of Taiwan PC, Japan, and USA investors, is to culture zooplankton (Brachionus plicatilis) and water fleas (Daphnia pulex) for export to Japan, Taiwan PC and USA for freshwater fish hatcheries.
The development of the aquaculture industry in the region has been greatly aided by the provision of technical assistance at the level of producers by major multilateral and bilateral institutions operating in East Asia. Funding organizations include ADB, CIDA, IDRC, JICA, UNDP, the British Overseas Development Administration (ODA), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank (WB), among others. Many of these projects have been executed by FAO, or by the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM).
Technical assistance, as distinguished from capital assistance which refers to the provision of funds for capital infrastructure, refers to the provision of funds for the conduct of investment studies for production, demonstration projects, or production-support activities. There are a number of technical assistance projects in the production sub-sector.
UNDP is providing assistance for three projects in China (for the development of coastal aquaculture, marine fish culture, and the demonstration of prawn culture in Xincun); and four projects in Viet Nam (on the development of Artemia culture, catfish reproduction, Chaetoceros culture, and brackishwater aquaculture development in Nghia Binh). These projects are executed by FAO.
ADB funds technical assistance projects dealing mainly with a review of the aquaculture sector in a number of countries. At present there is an ongoing ADB-funded Fisheries Sector Study in the Philippines reviewing the aquaculture industry and updating the findings of a 1986 aquaculture sector review.
In Laos the Netherlands Government, through the Mekong Committee, is providing funding for three technical assistance projects involving fish breeding and production in Tha Ngone in Vientiane Province.
Funding for the construction of production facilities in the region has been provided largely by multilateral organizations like ADB, WB, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP). Most of the projects provide credit facilities to either the respective government, or to the private sector through government banks and lending institutions. In most cases credit assistance is also accompanied by components of training and extension and institutional strengthening, which ensures chat the loans are ultimately repaid by the sub-borrowers.
A number of such capital assistance projects exist in the region at the present time. Among the East Asian countries China has the most projects and the largest capital assistance from multilateral funding. These include a US$ 40 billion WB loan coupled with a US$ 60 million concessionary credit facility from the International Development Association (IDA) for the conversion of lowland and shoals for culture of shrimps, seaweeds, and other items; a US$ 60 million WB loan for 11 100 ha of new fish ponds and the improvement of 6 100 ha of existing ponds; a US$ 6 million IFAD loan for the construction of 4 666 ha of fish ponds; SDR of US$ 10.15 million from IFAD for the development of 2 000 ha for intensive carp farming; and a total of US$ 91 million from the WFP for six projects for the construction of 8 000 ha of fish ponds and associated infrastructure.
In the Philippines ADB is providing credit assistance to the Philippine Government for the First Aquaculture Development Project to improve 1 100 ha of brackishwater fish ponds and the provision of support services; Laguna de Bay Fishpen Development Project for 1 680 ha of fish pens and the provision of support facilities and services; and a Second Aquaculture Development Project which is being finalized with the Philippine Government.
The WB is providing three major loans to the Philippine fisheries sector. These include a Fisheries Credit Project which provides credit Co individuals and corporations to finance marine and inland fisheries development; a Second Fisheries Credit Project which provides long-term credit to the private sector for the rehabilitation, expansion, and construction of milkfish ponds, and ice plants and cold storage facilities, among other infrastructure; and the Third Livestock and Fisheries Credit Project, the fisheries component of which provides loans for the rehabilitation and expansion of inland fish ponds and creation of fish pond estates.
In July 1987, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) inaugurated what could be the largest and most modern freshwater fish hatchery/nursery complex in Asia today. It was built with joint funding from the ADB and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development, and has a production capacity of 100 million tilapia fingerlings and about the same number of milkfish fingerlings per year. In addition, it has a feedmill, laboratories, and grow-out ponds for tilapia culture. The LLDA hatchery/nursery complex was put up in support of the Laguna de Bay Fishpen Development Project, with participation of about 1 000 small-scale fish farmers in the Laguna de Bay area.
The Overseas Economic Support Fund of Japan, through its Agro-Industrial Technology Transfer Programme is providing loan funds to private investors for a number of agriculture projects in the Philippines, including fisheries and aquaculture. Projects funded through this Programme have export potentials to Japanese markets and are intended to have significant socio-economic impacts on the area. Among projects in this Programme are a semi-refined carrageenan processing plant, and several shrimp hatchery, culture, and processing projects in various parts of the country.
In Laos UNDP is providing funds for the expansion and improvement of fish farms in five provinces, executed by FAO.
In Viet Nam funding is provided by UNDP for a shrimp culture and production project improving the pond facilities of the Shrimp Culture Research Institute, and for the construction of a penaeid shrimp hatchery in the central part of the country. The UNDP also co-financed with UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) the construction of a freshwater prawn hatchery in the Delta area.
