The impacts of Aquaculture Lionel Dabbadie Scientist, Cirad Cirad is the French governmental agricultural research centre working for development in tropical and subtropical countries Most of Cirad s research is conducted in partnership With the support of the French Embassy in The Philippines
What is a fishery? An organized effort by humans to catch fish or other aquatic species Related to hunting and gathering It implies management of collective resources in order to adapt the catching effort to the natural carrying capacity This is a fishery!
What is aquaculture? The art, science and business of cultivating aquatic animals and plants in fresh or marine waters Related to agriculture, breeding and farming Unlike fisheries, the resource is generaly private and implies the partial or total control of the cultivated organism, which is achieved in production structures that are also generaly privately owned This is aquaculture
This also and this too
as well as this : Aquaculture & Fisheries World: 2001-Fisheries 92 Mt (+1.4 %/yr% since 1970 ; stable or diminishing since 1995) 30 % meal of which 30 % for aquaculture feeds 2001-Aquaculture 48.2 Mt (+9.2 %/yr% since 1970*/ x 2.5 since 1990) 50% fish / 25% mollusc & crustaceans /25% algae 45 % freshwater/5 % brackish water/ 50 % sea Asia = 93 % (China = 71 %) Main production structure = ponds (75-80 %) Biodiversity of farmed fish 19 species (sur 25.000) = 83 % of the production Philippines 2003-2005: Fisheries +9.45% Aquaculture +17.9% *Other animal s production : + 2.8 % par an depuis 1970
World aquacultural production : cultured groups in various environments (FAO, 2004) Issues of fish production Overexploitation of natural stocks Growing demand in quantity and quality Populations demography The evolution of life and feeding (healthy feeding) A more regarding consumer Environmental impact Pollution Natural life degradation Mangroves Aquatic organisms
Can aquaculture be the solution to this challenge? It permits to produce more Productivity of natural ecosystems < 500 kg/ha.yr Productivity of aquaculture : several tons/ha.yr It permits to produce more efficiently To produce 1 kg of carnivorous fish (Atlantic salmon), you need: 10 to 15 kg of feed in a natural environment 1.5 kg of feed in an aquaculture farm Quantity of feed to produce 1 kg of the following animals: Beef: : 10 Pork: : 5 Chicken: : 2 It strongly contributes to the development of many areas in the world Economical impact: it improve the economical income in rural areas Social impact: it improves the livelihoods of the people in rural and coastal areas by reducing the vulnerabilities But it has been severely criticized in the last years Greenpeace & GMO fish BBC & dioxin Nature & fish meals Science & residues in farmed salmon Tsunami & mangrove swamps etc.
Is aquaculture aggravating the overexploitation of the oceans? Biomass Pyramids for the production of the 20 main fish species used in aquaculture (FAO, 2004) Carnivorous species 100,00% 80,00% 60,00% 40,00% 20,00% 0,00% -20,00% -40,00% -60,00% -80,00% -100,00% Tropical Filtrating species Omnivorous/herbivorous species Temperate Fish feeds 30% of fisheries catches are used for producing feeds An activity that what supposed to produce fish proteins is turning into a fish protein-consuming activity In systems based on fish meals, the protein consumption is 2 to 6 times the production This should not be the case for herbivorous species like carps and tilapias however
Is aquaculture a threat to biodiversity? Biodiversity of cultured species (FAO, 2004) Fish : 131 species Molluscs : 42 species Crustaceans : 27 species Algae : 8 species Amphibians/reptiles : 2 species 210 species 30 first species (excluding algae) 30.546 Mt 81 % total production Cultivated fish production (FAO, 2004) TOTAL Fish = 24.433 Mt 131 spp Grass carp : 3.636 Silver carp : 3.546 Common carp : 2.849 Bighead carp : 1.663 Crucian carp : 1.527 White amur bream : 0.541 Mud carp : 0.220 Black carp : 0.191 Rohu : 0.834 Catla : 0.669 Mrigal : 0.590 Nile tilapia : 1.109 Channel catfish : 0.271 Japanese eel : 0.218 Atlantic salmon : 1.025 Rainbow trout : 0.510 Coho salmon : 0.151 Bangus (milkfish) : 0.495 Japanese amberjack : 0.153 19 spp = 20.198 Mt 83%
GMO Bluntnose bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Gilthead bream (Sparus auratus) Goldfish (Carassius auratus) Killifish (Fundulus sp.) Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) Loach (Misgurnus sp.) Northern pike (Esox( lucius) Medaka (Orizias sp.) Mud carp (Cirrhina molitorella) Atlantic salmon* * (Salmo( salar) Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Striped bass (Morone( saxatilis) Sea bream (Archosargus rhomboidalis) Tilapia* * (Oreochromis( niloticus) Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) Zebrafish (Danio rerio) R. Goldburg, 2000 & Nature, 2001 Exotic vs. indigenous species Introduction of exotic species Technologies are already available Market is known Impact on native species and environment can be major High risk of introducing new diseases Aquaculture of indigenous species Impact on native species and environment is lower Market is unknown but can be much more important than with «old» species Technologies are not available and must be developped from zero (very expensive and long process)
Is aquaculture a polluting activity? Ecological Foot prints Cage Salmon, Europe : 40-50 000 m 2 /m 2 Cage Tilapia, Zimbabwe : 10 000 m 2 /m The area of land and water 2 Semi-intensive Shrimps, Colombie : 35-190 m 2 /m 2 Mussels, Suède : 20 m 2 /m required to support 2 the activity Pond Tilapia, Zimbabwe : near 1 m 2 /m 2 Life Cycle Analysis For a fair & holistic assessment the raw material production, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal including all intervening transportation steps need to be assessed Is aquacultured fish dangerous for health? Science, 2004
The activities of Cirad Contribute to the sustainable development We do not inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children - A. Saint Exupery, The Little Prince Held in partnership In the Philippines : BFAR, PCAMRD Abroad : Vietnam, Brazil, Africa With the support of the French Government Embassy of France in the Philippines Other governmental French institutes: Muséum National d Histoire naturelle de Paris, INRA, IRD Focus on the aspects that are more likely to generate the greatest impact Understand the sustainable development Develop integrated indicators for understanding the sustainable development Economical Environmental: : Life Cycle Assesment Social: Governing processes Goal: provide us with tools to better adapt our work to the needs of the people Held in France, Vietnam, Indonesia & the Philippines Supported by the French Agency for research To start in in November,, 2005
Valorize omnivorous species : Molobicus programme What is it? The program aims at producing new strains of tilapia that grow fast in high salinity environment. How? By hybridisation and selection. What are the prospects for a brackish water Tilapia in the Philippines? Monoculture in cages or brackishwater ponds Prawn intensive rearing («green water technology») Tilapia improves water quality for prawn. But, added-value due to tilapia sales is negligible. Prawn/tilapia extensive or semi-intensive polyculture. Tilapia improves water quality for prawns. Tilapia sales yield 15% of turnover.
Two tilapia species are used in the MOLOBICUS program: O. mossambicus O. niloticus MOLOBI CUS The creation of the hybrid Hybridisation and backcrossing of O. niloticus (fast growth) and O. mossambicus (salinity resistance) from a wide genetic base in order to have a population showing both good genetic variability and resistance to salinity.
Example of results with the salinity daily increment test Valorize biodiversity : Pangasius
Vietnamese production chain 3/4 of the production originates from freshwater Main problem was the availability of fry Two species : Pangasius bocourti Ca ba sa Cages Low fecundity : 4700 ovocytes/kg Pangasius hypophthalmus Ca tra Latrines ponds High fecundity : 49000 ovocytes/kg Pangasius sp. fry collection 80 % of fry was imported illegally from Cambodia Cost of fry = 55 % of the production cost
Cages on the Mekong Feeding Commercial feed or home-made feed with rice bran, trash fish and aquatic plants (Ipomea)
Processing plants Current context Strong increase of production 1993 2000 Number of cages 1000 4000 Total Production 15 000 76 000 (200 000 in 2002) Ca ba sa Fry Production 0 3 000 000 Ca tra Fry Production 0 500 000 000 Change in fish acceptation Ca ba sa : export Ca tra : value gain Development has less impact on the environment ±100 % fry from hatcheries Cages: 100-200 kg/m3 cycle : 1 year 75 % of the fish farmers have more than 500 m3 & 50 % between 1000-2000 m3 Challenges: diseases,, pollution, market (Vietnam-USA)
Improve the livelihood Identify the main vulnerabilities and the functioning of communities practicing aquaculture and promote improvements Farmers and their families are submitted to external pressures (natural, economical, legal, social etc.) Some can become opportunities Example of fair trade Others can increase the vulnerability and lead to bankrupt Example of food safety Can Fair Trade market turn into an opportunity for Philippines farmers? Market segmentation Re-think the development of aquaculture Take into account not only the technics,, but also the expectations & fears of the clients QUALITY APPROACH A new market aimed at paying a fair price to the producer,, in exchange of the respect of some ethical principals A market that grows very fast in Europe and USA (>40%/yr /yr, >47000 tons) The extra benefits for coffee farmers amounts to over 30 million US$ No aquaculture product yet but a pilot study is started by the University of Stirling (UK) and support of Cirad to make it in the Philippines (November( 9-30) What does it implies Standard development Certification Inspections
Improve the food safety Food safety is a justified and strong demand from consumers worldwide But food laws and standards could be a barrier to many producers and create inequities We are working with BFAR to make the Pinoy aquaculture compliant with international and European food laws Conclusion Aquaculture is neither the fantastic solution to alleviate world poverty that is has been believed to be during years, nor the bad business described lately It has a very important role to play in improving the livelihoods in many areas of the world The Philippines play a leading role in re- inventing the aquaculture of the XXI st century
Salamat! Thank you! Merci!