Modern technologies should be tailored to fit into the country’s traditional fish farming practices to boost Filipino fishermen's efficiency and productivity, said three Filipino scholars who recently returned from Israel for a short course on intensive fish farming.

Conducted by MASHAV's International Agricultural Training Center from 16 to 25 July in Shefayim, the program introduced Israel's expertise in aquaculture and covered various topics, such as inland and coastal production methods, water quality management, and the interplay between fish farming and ecology. 

Reniel Dandan, Science Research Specialist I at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, was impressed with Israel’s aquaculture industry, describing it as advanced and innovative and its farmers as highly modern and receptive to adopting new technologies and innovations developed through research and development (R&D).

“I observed firsthand how mechanization and digitalization have revolutionized their aquaculture practices.  My aspiration is to share these insights with aquaculture farmers in the Philippines to inspire them to embrace new technologies and innovations from R&D,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Dandan noted that despite the Philippines’ mature aquaculture technologies, there is a tendency to adhere to traditional practices, which he wishes to complement with modern approaches.

“I have a plan to explore Israeli aquaculture technologies with modifications to fit the Philippines' needs through R&D, including the boosting of renewable energy for greener aquaculture, land-based seaweed production, utilization of periphyton for organic aquaculture, and [an] intensive recirculating aquaculture system,” he added.

“Faced with managing the scarcity of water, Israeli fish farmers are so innovative. They develop new technologies to promote healthy, environmentally friendly, and profitable fish farming, as we have seen during the tours to different fish farms,” Irish Belmonte, Senior Aquaculturist, from the City Government of Ormoc, said.

The field tours were the most memorable for her, as they learned about different insights and had hands-on experience with various farms. 

“The lessons learned during the training will be of great use in our upcoming Mariculture Park and Multi-Species Hatchery,” Belmonte added.

Likewise, Rhea Elemento, Aquaculturist I from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, expressed inspiration from witnessing Israel's fish farming practices despite having limited natural resources.

“[They] could successfully produce domestic and imported aquatic products and continue to innovate technologies that are unique to them while trying to keep up with the demand for both the local and international markets,” she said.

“I am grateful to the Government of Israel through MASHAV for providing this opportunity. [I] am hopeful that we will be able to explore and modify their technologies to apply to our respective countries,” she added.