Site selection for aquaculture parks in the Philippines

1. Site selection criteria
www.aqua-park.asia
Scientifically based criteria for the
selection of suitable Mariculture
Park locations
AquaPark Mid-term meeting - interim results

2. Site selection
• Site selection is probably the single most
important factor that determines the commercial
viability of an aquaculture operation.
• An aquaculture operation should be located,
designed and operated to provide optimum
water quality to the fish and to avoid conditions
that may induce stress, reduce growth or
predispose the fish to disease.
• The area should be of a suitable depth, have
good current flow with good water quality and
ideally sheltered from intense wind and wave
action.

3. Guiding Principles
• The precautionary approach (production
quantity, exotic fry, etc) should be applied.
• Production carrying capacity estimation should
be undertaken for each identified zone.
• A fixed number of License sites should be
allocated within the zones based on carrying
capacity.
• There should be buffers between mariculture
zones and sensitive habitats.
• Potential conflicts should be assessed and
avoided during the process of zone sites
identification.

4. Site selection criteria – Main factors to consider
Bio-physical
• Depth profile
• Exposure to wind
• Fetch
• Maximum wave height
• Currents
• Tides
• Water temperature
• Salinity
• Conflicting uses of area
• Shore line contour

5. Site selection criteria – Other factors to consider
Hazzards
• Pollution (organic and inorganic)
• Potential danger of red tides, plankton blooms,
biofouling
• Predators - crabs, fish, birds, seals, etc.
Infrastructure
• Accessibility to the site – roads, transportation,
airport, port, etc.
• Infrastructure and utilities - facilities, security,
communication, electricity, freshwater

6. Site selection criteria – Other factors to consider
Environmental
• Proximity to
– sensitive habitats
– Sensitive species
Other
• Potential for expansion - availability of adjacent
area
• Legal framework – policies, regulations,
licenses, permits, concessions, etc.
• Public and government acceptance of project

7. Preferred criteria for cage farming
• Suitable depth
– 15 to 50 m
• Infrastructure
– Road preferable less then 1 km away
Excluding factors
• Wave
– More then 1 m height
• Rivers
– Large river 3 km, other river 1,5 km
• Sensitive areas
– Coral reef 300 m away

8. Site selection process
• The aquaculture zoning process should follow
the following sequence
Step 1. Data collection for zone identification and
selection
• Oceanographic data
• Infrastructure
• Potential conflicts
• Socio-economic issues
– Fishing communities
– Tourist areas

9. Site selection process
Step 2. Digitising data for use in GIS
Step 3. Analysis of zone selection criteria
Step 4. Identification of potential aquaculture
zones and prioritising
Step 5. Undertake production carrying capacity
estimations on agreed aquaculture zones and set
a maximum level

10. Aquaculture zoning proceedure