The Philippine Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center/ Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) inaugurated its new black tiger shrimp broodstock facility in Tigbauan, Iloilo on July 3, 2023, as a highlight of its 50th anniversary.

Its four 120-ton broodstock tanks, with a combined holding facility of 1,440 fully-grown breeders, are projected to produce 80 million post larvae annually. It is hoped to be a source of disease-free captive broodstock.

Two months later, in September, SEAFDEC/AQD stocked in the new facility about 4,000 tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) that tested negative for key diseases. Shrimp originated from SEAFDEC/AQD’s shrimp hatchery and were grown to about 27 grams each at the Dumangas Brackishwater Station (DBS).

Both facilities are part of the Oplan Balik Sugpo (Operation Plan to Revive Tiger Shrimp) program launched by SEAFDEC/AQD in 2017, aiming to revive the tiger shrimp industry in the country. The program’s approach is to promote the production of high-quality shrimp postlarvae and demonstrate environment-friendly approaches in the grow-out phase, altogether adopting enhanced biosecurity and emphasizing good aquaculture practices.

Since the launching of Oplan Balik Sugpo, SEAFDEC/AQD has developed protocols in the hatchery that have been compiled and published in an extension manual, Black Tiger Shrimp (Penaeus monodon) Hatchery Operations Using Enhanced Biosecurity Measures launched in 2023.

“It is hoped that the new broodstock facility will become a sustainable and long-term solution to the perennial challenge and bottleneck of sourcing disease-free spawners from the wild,” the center said.