Mangrove Revegetation Potentials of Brackish-Water Pond Areas in the Philippines - Aquaculture and the Environment: A Shared Destiny - page 43

The present paper is an attempt to extend the options presented by Samson and Rollon
(2008) to include brackish-water ponds covered by land titles and those that are
undocumented ( Table 8 ).

PONDS WITH LEGAL INSTRUMENTS PONDS WITHOUT

EXISTING LEGAL
INSTRUMENT OF
OWNERSHIP

With active FLA Titled ponds

1. For ponds with active

FLAs and the overall
fish yield is optimal,
apply semi-intensive
aquaculture. (modified
from Samson and
Rollon, 2008).

1. Aquasilviculture

(Primavera, 2000)

1. If pond existence is

necessary based on
bioeconomic analysis,
reapply FLA and
optimize fish yield
(Samson and Rollon,
2008).

2. Optimize fish yield and

reduce pond size to as
small as possible
(Samson and Rollon,
2008); revert unutilized
areas to mangrove forest 2. Optimize fish yield and

reduce pond size to as
small as possible
(Samson and Rollon,
2008). Follow the 4:1
mangrove-pond area
ratio to maintain
ecological health (as
cited in Primavera,
2000).

2. Revert to mangrove

areas:
a. Natural

revegetation

b. Assisted planting

Table 8. List of management options for brackish-water ponds with and without legal
instruments (with FLA, land titles) in the Philippines.

A total of six rational management strategies are being proposed for the utilization of
brackish-water ponds in the Philippines. The options are specific for the current state of
ownership of the ponds.

4.1 For ponds with active FLAs and the overall fish yield is optimal, apply semi-
intensive aquaculture (modified from Samson and Rollon, 2008)
For ponds with existing FLA, the most rational objective of management will be semi-
intensive aquaculture production to optimize the use of leased areas (Janssen and Padilla,
1999). In 2007, there were around 59, 923 hectares of potential brackish-water ponds listed in
the website of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. However, a closer look at the
list revealed that only 44% of these have active FLAs, the rest of the lease are expired. This
option may be of importance to the provinces of Quezon, Zamboanga del Sur, Iloilo,
Occidental Mindoro, Negros Occidental, Samar, Masbate, Bohol, Zamboanga City and
Capiz where brackish-water pond areas with FLAs are relatively extensive. Applying this
intervention may yield a net income of US$680 million (at US$1 = Php 42.61) conservatively
in 10 years.