Surveys made by Mr. Alvarez and Dr. Doty in 1986 showed that there are several species of agar-producing seaweeds in the Philippines.
Based on the information made available to the ASEAN/UNDP/FAO Small Scale Fisheries Development Project in 1987, a proposal was formulated at the request of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for the development of seaweed farming other than Eucheuma. This proposal was submitted to UNDP for financial support for a 3-year period.
The development objective of this project is to contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of fishing communities dependent on coastal fisheries for livelihood by developing alternative employment and income opportunities through diversification of seaweed farming. This activity would divert fishing to farming, thus, reduce fishing effort on the overfished coastal fishery resources.
The project area is located in the eastern part of Sorsogon covering the coastal towns of Prieto Diaz to Matnog. (Fig. 1). Pilot demonstration farms have already been established in 3 areas, such as Gubat and Barcelona. The third site is a brackishwater pond of the DA Regional Office in Sorsogon. The technical and economic feasibility of Gracilaria farming will be determined; the quality of extracts accessed and growth measurements of species farmed made.
Socio-economic benchmark data is being compiled by the project to establish the pre-project profile of the target coastal communities in the area.
Establishment of community framework will be promoted to organize the fishermen farmers into cooperatives. This would enable the communities to strengthen their socio-economic conditions even beyond the duration of the project and establish a farmer-oriented marketing structure.
Training on farming techniques post harvest processing and cooperative management will be provided by the project as well as assist the local governments in the formulation of resource management measures to sustain the productivity of natural grounds.
Taxonomic identification of Gracilaria species found in the project area is being carried out to establish scientific identity of species for farming purposes wherein Dr. Trono is involved.
Processing for agar extracts will be made to determine gel quality of different Gracilaria species being farmed. As there is no provision for basic research on seaweeds in the project, supplementary support from and other possible sources is being sought to take care of the more basis biological research and environmental aspects affecting seaweed farming. Demonstration trials are already going on in 3 sites. Additional demonstration farms will be established by the project with direct participation of the local fishermen.
It is anticipated that the project would help increase the export of seaweeds from Gracilaria through farming. As of 1984, the Philippines exported to Japan 1470 MT of agarophyte seaweeds classified as "other seaweeds." This is presumed to be Gracilaria which used to be seasonally abundant in Manila Bay and other parts of the country which were collected from the wild. It will be noted that next to Chile, the Philippines is the second highest source of agarophyte seaweeds imported by Japan in 1984 (Table 2).
The Seaweed Production Development Project, PHI/89/004, has been operational since August 1991 with the support of UNDP. It is being executed by FAO with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources as cooperating agency.
