1.
Regional workshop on Underutilized Fish and
Marine Genetic Resources and their
Amelioration
Country Status Report – The Philippines
Rachel Ravago-Gotanco
Marine Science Institute
University of the Philippines Diliman

2.
Republic of the Philippines: Country brief
Marine water area,
including EEZ
2,200,000 km2
Coastal areas 266,000 km2
Oceanic areas 1,934,000 km2
Continental shelf area 184,600 km2
Coastline length 36,289 km
Land area 300,000 km2
Population
(Projected 2019)
109 Million
2
Image: Balingit R (CC BY 2.5)
Marine jurisdictional boundaries
Data Sources: BFAR, CIA World Factbook, Philippine Statistics Authority

3.
Philippines: Global center of marine biodiversity
3
Roberts et al. 2002, Carpenter and Springer 2005; Sangciango et al. 2013, Azanza et al. 2017
Species richness from expert-derived distribution data for 10,247 marine species
Economic valuation of marine ecosystem goods & services:
US$ 966.6 Billion

4.
Major contributor to global fisheries production
4
FAO 2018
Philippines is #10 overall in marine capture production (2005-2014 data)
Aquaculture: Contributed 3% (53.4 million MT) to global production in 2017

5.
Net exporter of fishery products
5
Data Sources: Philippine Statistics Authority
0.00
200,000,000.00
400,000,000.00
600,000,000.00
800,000,000.00
1,000,000,000.00
1,200,000,000.00
1,400,000,000.00
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
VALUE(USDOLLARS)
YEAR
FISHERY PRODUCTS, EXPORT and IMPORT VALUES
(2011-2017)
EXPORT
IMPORT
BALANCE
30%
16%
2%
52%
FISHERY EXPORTS, BY COMMODITY
(2011-2017)
1 2 3 4
Tuna
US$ 2.88 Billion
Other fish
US$ 2.2 Billion
Seaweed
& Carrageenan
US$ 1.2 Billion
Shrimps, Prawns, US$ 341 Million
Destinations % of export (By value)
Cumulative share 75%
USA 16.0
Japan 13.2
Germany 9.6
Hongkong 7.9
UK 7.0
Spain 6.4
China 5.4
Taiwan 3.6
Italy 3.3
Korea 2.1

6.
Philippine Fisheries Production
6
Data Sources: Philippine Statistics Authority
0.00
500,000.00
1,000,000.00
1,500,000.00
2,000,000.00
2,500,000.00
3,000,000.00
3,500,000.00
4,000,000.00
4,500,000.00
5,000,000.00
0.00
1,000,000.00
2,000,000.00
3,000,000.00
4,000,000.00
5,000,000.00
6,000,000.00
7,000,000.00
8,000,000.00
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Value(USDx1000)
Quantity(MT)
YEAR
Total Fisheries Production of the Philippines from 2002-2015
by quantity (MT) and value (USD x 1000)
Commercial (MT) Municipal (MT) Aquaculture (MT)
Commercial (USD x 1000) Municipal (USD x 1000) Aquaculture (USD x 1000)
Sector % Contribution
(By Volume)
% Contribution
(By Value)
Capture
Commercial 14.6 16.7
Municipal 14.5 23.2
Aquaculture 70.9 60.1

7.
Capture Production
7
Data Sources: Philippine Statistics Authority
Roundscad
18%
Indian sardines
16%
Skipjack
15%
Frigate
tuna
8%
Yellowfin
tuna
7%
Others
6%
All others
30%
CAPTURE PRODUCTION (COMMERCIAL FISHERIES)
By Volume and Species
2002-2018
For both commercial and municipal fisheries, small pelagics, tuna dominate
catch (70 - 80% of production)
Big-eyed scad
8%
Roundscad
8%
Indian sardines
7%
Frigate tuna
7%
Yellowfin tuna
5%
Indian mackerel
5%
Anchovies
5%
All others
55%
CAPTURE PRODUCTION (MUNICIPAL FISHERIES)
By Volume and Species
2002-2018

8.
Aquaculture Production
8
Data Sources: Philippine Statistics Authority
Milkfish
17%
Tilapia
12%
Seaweed
65%
AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION (2018)

9.
 Capture fisheries
 Production declined from 2010 – 2017, despite increased fishing effort
(number of vessels, CPUE)1,2,
 Not accompanied by decline in value
 Depleted, overexploited status due to overfishing and habitat
degradation3
 Aquaculture
 Steady increase from 2008 – 2010, decline from 2011 – 2018 (14%
reduction from peak 2010 volumes)
 No decline in value
 Post-harvest losses reduce the value of fisheries & products 4
 Capture: Discarding by-catch, processing catch into low-value products
(eg fishmeal)
 Improper handling, Inconsistent quality, poor safety standards, lack of
infrastructure
Status of Philippine fisheries
9
1Briones 2007, 2BFAR Fisheries Profile, 3Go et al 2015, Stobutski 2006, 4Espejo-Hermes 2004

10.
 Declines in catch biomass, species diversity
 Reported shifts in community structure
 Low income of most fishers
Features of Philippine Fisheries (FAO Fisheries Profile, DA-BFAR)
 Depleted fishery resources
 Degraded coastal environments and critical habitats
 Unmet potential of aquaculture and commercial fishing grounds
 Improper post-harvest practices, inefficient marketing lead to losses
or reduced value
 Inequitable distribution of benefits
 Inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral resource-use conflicts
 Inadequate systems and structures for fisheries management
Philippine fisheries are mostly unsustainable
10Stobutski et al. 2006, Muallil et al. 2014, Silvestre et al. 2003, San Diego and Fisher 2014,
Anticamara and Go 2015

11.
1. Expanded exploitation of oceanic waters outside the Phil EEZ
 Bilateral access agreements for fishing (PNG, Indonesia)
2. Expansion of aquaculture production
 Brood stock quality and supply
 Disease control, diagnostics
 Development of more efficient production methods
3. Improve post-harvest and value-added product industry
4. Expanding bioprospecting activities: discovery of high-value
products with pharmaceutical, industrial, nutraceutical applications,
through to commercialization and marketing
These are on top of initiating measures for sustainable
management of capture fisheries
Strategies to improve fisheries production and
utilization of resources
11

12.
Philippine example: Sea cucumbers
12
Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)
At least 100 species occurring in the Philippines
~ 40 species of commercial value

13.
Framework for sea cucumber R & D
13Integrative research on major focus areas to for sustainable utilization
of sea cucumber fisheries
National R&D GOAL:
Establish a sustainable and competitive sea cucumber industry which provides
equitable economic benefits to various stakeholders (fishers, growers,
processors, traders, etc.) and maintains the productivity and biodiversity of
invertebrate fishery resources in the country.
PRODUCTION
To develop management and
culture technologies to sustain
and enhance income of sea
cucumber fishers and growers
• Management of capture
production (resource
assessment, policies)
• Improve Culture production
• Culture-based resource
management systems
(restocking)
POST-HARVEST
To enhance economic returns
from sea cucumber products.
• Improve processing
methods for trepang
• Intensify bioprospecting for
natural products discovery
TRADE & MARKETING
To establish sea cucumber
trade and market system that
promotes sustainability and
equity of benefits.
• Value chain analysis
• Mechanisms for marketing
• Develop product standards

14.
• Resource assessment
• Genetic stock delineation
Research into biology to improve:
• Spawning
• Larval rearing
• Juvenile release, grow-out systems
• Natural product discovery
• Collagen characterization, biomaterials
AQUACULTURE
Develop, improve culture technology
S&T Initiatives Management approaches Gaps Outcomes
CAPTURE FISHERIES
Management initiatives
High-value products unexplored
High value biomolecules,
biomaterials
Improved culture
production
Sustainable capture
production
Fisheries
management
Stock enhancement Advanced chemical, molecular methods
Schematic for integrated sea cucumber R & D
PRODUCTION POST-HARVEST
• Development of CULTURE INDUSTRY
• Increased PRODUCTION &
LIVELIHOOD Opportunities,
• Enhanced PRODUCT VALUE &
MARKET SHARE
Broodstock enhancement
• Traditional: conditioning
• Genomics-aided approaches for
breeding and selection
• Enhance product value
Improve processing technology
1
2
3
4

15.
Capture Fisheries: Research for Resource Management
Population genetic studies
Stichopus horrens & Holothuria scabra
15
Ravago-Gotanco & Kim (2019), Lizano et al. (in prep); MMEE Lab unpublished data
Minimum management units for sea cucumber fisheries across the
Philippine archipelago based on microsatellite data
Stichopus cf. horrens
N = 231 individuals
FST = 0.072**
8 distinct populations
Holothuria scabra
N = 531 individuals
FST = 0.029**
9 distinct populations
2

16.
AQUACULTURE
Genomic resources for H. scabra broodstock enhancement
16
H. scabra is the only tropical species with established aquaculture technology
Culture techniques  create livelihood opportunities, supplement capture production
1
Juinio-Meñez, M. A. et al. (2017) Fisheries Research, 186, pp. 502–513. doi: 10.1016/j.fishres.2016.07.017.2
Gorospe, J. R. C., Altamirano, J. P. and Juinio-Meñez, M. A. (2017) Aquaculture Research, 48(12), pp. 5984–5992. doi: 10.1111/are.13423.3
Juinio-Meñez, M. A. et al. (2012), in Asia–Pacific Tropical Sea Cucumber Aquaculture. ACIAR Proceedings. Austrailian Centre for International Agricultural Research, pp. 57–62.
0 40 70
0
10
20
30
40
Days
Length(mm)
Hapa 1 Hapa 2 Hapa 3
Growth variability is common
Faster growth a desirable production trait
Slide credit: J Tabardillo
1

17.
Genomic resources for H. scabra broodstock enhancement
Host and Microbiome factors
17
Slide credit: J Tabardillo
GROWTH VARIABILITY
in sea cucumbers
Genetic differences
HOST MICROBIOME
Examine Fast vs Slow growth groups
Differential Gene Expression (RNAseq)
Molecular Markers (SNPs, Transcriptome & Genome)
Linkage Mapping
Gut microbiome diversity
1
Resources for
broodstock
enhancement using
genomic approaches

18.
Genomic resources for H. scabra broodstock enhancement
Linkage map
18
Mapping family
P: BOLINAO x MASINLOC individuals
F1: sorted for fast- and slow- growth
Sequencing
92 individuals (2 parents)
ddRADseq
NovaSeq platform (2 x 150 bp)
Recovered 9,060 SNPs, used 7839 linked
34 linkage groups
~95% genome coverage
Size frequency distribution of F1 juveniles
H. scabra draft linkage map
Sea cucumber program (DOST-PCAARRD 2015-2019)
1

19.
POST-HARVEST
H. scabra: Traceability to hatchery-of-origin using transcriptome SNPs
19
144 SNPs
Recovered 4 genetic groups
corresponding to hatchery location
Design primer for
multiplexed assays
[Assay Design Suite]
DA Biotech R-1510; Ordonez J (MSc Thesis)
MTPA-PCR assay for rapid genotyping
Fragment profiles for MTPA-PCR of 3 SNP
loci (SNDFSH40, SNDFSH78, SNDFSH99)
Traceability, Certification of Origin
3

20.
Batoctoy, Torreno V, 2017
BIOPROSPECTING (Stichopus sp.)
Sea cucumbers are rich sources of bioactive compounds
3
Saponins
Fucoidans
Glycosaminoglycans Amino acids and peptides
Collagen
Sterols and Phenolics
• Antithrombic
• Anticoagulant
• Antiosteoarthritis
• antitumor
• Antifungal
• Antibacterial
• Antiviral
• Photoprotective
• Antitumor
• Immunostimulator
y
• Antioxidant
• Antibacterial
• Photoprotective
• Antiaging
• Antioxidant
• Antibacterial
• Tissue repair
• Wound healing
• Photoprotective (uv)
• Anticancer
• Antiaging
• Antiwrinkle
• Wound healing
• Antihypertension
• Guided Tissue regeneration
Bordbar et al, Mar Drugs 2011
Siahaan et al. Cosmetics 2017, 4,26
Oh etal Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017, 20,28.
Fatty acids
• Tissue repair and
wound healing
• PUFA(EPA and DHA)
• Blood coagulation
• Coronary Heart disease

21.
• Resource assessment
• Genetic stock delineation
Research into biology to improve:
• Spawning
• Larval rearing
• Juvenile release, grow-out systems
• Natural product discovery
• Collagen characterization, biomaterials
AQUACULTURE
Develop, improve culture technology
S&T Initiatives Management approaches Gaps Outcomes
CAPTURE FISHERIES
Management initiatives
High-value products unexplored
High value biomolecules,
biomaterials
Improved culture
production
Sustainable capture
production
Fisheries
management
Stock enhancement Advanced chemical, molecular methods
Schematic for integrated sea cucumber R & D
PRODUCTION POST-HARVEST
• Development of CULTURE INDUSTRY
• Increased PRODUCTION &
LIVELIHOOD Opportunities,
• Enhanced PRODUCT VALUE &
MARKET SHARE
Broodstock enhancement
• Traditional: conditioning
• Genomics-aided approaches for
breeding and selection
• Enhance product value
Improve processing technology
1
2
3
4

22.
 Key strategies for maximizing utilization of FMGRs:
 Sustainable management of capture fisheries
 Develop/Enhance aquaculture production
 Develop value-adding post-harvest technologies and systems
 Open up additional income/market streams: bioprospecting for natural
product discovery
 Considering the state of capture fisheries, aquaculture may have the
most potential to augment fisheries production in the medium-term;
 Fisheries management (capture and culture) should be anchored on
environmentally-sound practices, considering biodiversity (including
genetic) conservation so that genetic resources remain intact for
future efforts at further development.
Summary
22

23.
23
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