Culturing Shellfish in El Salvador

EXPERTS
Culturing Shellfish
in El Salvador
Dispatched to El Salvador by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) in 2005, Kani Kiyotaka has played a leading role in
developing and promoting shellfish aquaculture in the Central
American Republic. Sawaji Osamu reports.
B
Salvador as an expert to work in the development of technology for shellfish
seed production and aquaculture.
The Jiquilisco Bay area is rich in
shellfish, including oysters and a type of
ark clam. Local fishermen collect these
shellfish for food. For example, they use
hammers and chisels to harvest a type of
oyster clinging to rocks five to seven
meters under water. Living among the
roots of the mangroves are curils, a type
of ark shell clam. When the tide is low,
these can be harvested by hand one by
one from among the tangled roots. Also
making a habitat in the tidal mud flats
that spread out before the mangrove forest are casco de burro (donkey’s hoof)
ark shell clams. They are harvested at
low tide by collectors who wander over
the flats and dig them out by hand.
“The people in El Salvador general-
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF KANI KIYOTAKA
lanketed with mangroves
and abounding in nature,
Jiquilisco Bay is located in
Usulutan Department in
eastern El Salvador. A habitat for turtles,
migrating wildfowl and other important
flora and fauna, it was registered in 2005
under the Ramsar Convention, which is
aimed at protecting wetlands.
“I first visited Jiquilisco Bay in
2005,” says Kani Kiyotaka. “The dark
green mangrove forests were just beautiful and seemed to be floating on the surface of the water. At low tide, fiddler
and bubbler crabs would scuttle busily
along picking up bits of food, as all sorts
of birds congregated there, including a
species of heron. I thought it just
brimmed with nature.”
The Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) dispatched Kani to El
A canoe passes in front of mangroves in Jiquilisco Bay
16
The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012
ly eat these shellfish raw,” explains
Kani. “You might say that shellfish is a
universal food, popular both inside and
outside the home. People enjoy it when
they go to the seashore on weekends, or
in restaurants or seaside shops.”
Nevertheless, the fishermen who
harvest these shellfish live a hard life.
Particularly eastern El Salvador, which
includes Usulutan Department, lags behind the rest of the country in economic
development. Small-scale fishermen account for about a tenth of the population
in the region, and most are poor. During
the civil war (1980–1992) and the period
of turmoil which followed, people who
had lost their jobs moved to the coast
from the urban areas and began harvesting shellfish. The result has been a decline in shellfish and a reduction in the
scale of harvesting. People must also
now travel farther from home to find a
place to search for shellfish.
To remedy this situation, JICA in
2005 launched the Project for Shellfish
Aquaculture Development and began
providing assistance to support development of technology for shellfish
seed production and aquaculture,
which had never been conducted in El
Salvador. Between 2005 and 2007,
Kani was engaged in development of
Pacific oyster seed and aquaculture
technology as a short-term expert, and
between 2008 and 2010, carried out
operational management of the entire
project as chief advisor, also working
to develop curil seed production and
aquaculture technology.
The project continued through 2010
and logged many accomplishments. For
example, it succeeded in developing
seed technology for curils, as well as
aquaculture technology using the seed,
making it possible to raise mature clams.
This has made production possible in a
planned fashion throughout the year. It
is now possible to produce casco de
burro seed as well, thus establishing a
method to use them in aquaculture. The
project also developed seed production
and aquaculture techniques for Pacific
oysters and succeeded in developing a
complete aquaculture technology for
seed production using the oysters raised
in this way. Farming of Pacific oysters
was difficult within Jiquilisco Bay
owing to sessile organisms such as bar-
launched this last June with the fishing cooperatives in Japan,” says
the aim of popularizing the Kani. “So we’re hoping the fishermen
aquaculture technology among can strengthen their organization by
as many fishermen as possible. working jointly in aquaculture work.”
In accordance with the state Plan for
Th e P ro j e c t fo r S h e l l fi sh
Aquaculture Development Family Farming established by the
made it possible to develop Salvadoran government in 2011, the
technology to produce a cer- Center of Fisheries and Aquaculture
tain number of Pacific oyster Development (CENDEPESCA) has put
and curil seed systematically, a Plan for Family Aquaculture into efand this technology is being fect. The plan calls for the promotion of
transferred to the project activities in the shellfish aquaculture
counterparts. As a result, about sector. The Production Improvement
500,000 Pacific oysters and and Extension of Shellfish Aquaculture
500,000 curils have been Project is thus truly in line with El
raised annually since the end Salvadoran government strategy. Curils
of the project. But the Pacific and casco de burros live in other areas
oyster and curil seed produc- of Central America, and thus the hatchtion volume is too small for ery production technology for these speaquaculture to gain popularity, cies is drawing a lot of attention from
and production still falls short neighboring countries.
“So far I’ve worked together with
of demand. For this reason
the Production Improvement ten young technical counterparts in the
and Extension of Shellfish project,” says Kani. It’s rewarding to see
Aquaculture Project aims to that, even after they leave the project,
Casco de burro shellfish on sale in the market
develop production technology they’re active in some other division of
for Pacific oysters, curils and CENDEPESCA or are involved in a
nacles and other external enemies but casco de burros. Moreover, the targeted fisheries-related school. It would really
succeeded in Fonseca Bay in the neigh- seed production volume of Pacific oysboring department of La Union.
“Shellfish seed production means ters and curils is 5
raising young shellfish,” explains Kani. million, or ten times
“Raising strong young begins from the the present volume.
health of the mother, and a lot of care is Another goal will
also required in the spawning stage, in be establishing seed
the diet of the newly hatched young, and production technoloin environmental hygiene. However, the gy for casco de buraquaculture water pumped up from the ros, which was not
sea is not necessarily always uniform achieved through the
and can’t always be completely con- previous project.
Under the
trolled. So it’s really important to monitor it daily in order to quickly deal with project, technical
any changes. And since air temperatures guidance is given in
are high, the volume of dissolved oxy- shellfish aquaculture
gen in the shellfish-rearing water is low. to marine farming
This makes for vigorous propagation of groups which have
bacteria, which rapidly contaminates the a p p l i e d . T h i s i n water. We really have to be careful not cludes, for example,
Kani Kiyotaka with local fishermen and their haul of
just with the shellfish-rearing water but advice on how to secultured oysters
also in preventing stagnant water from lect the most biologically viable aquaculdeveloping inside the pipes and filters.”
ture site, provision of the materials and be great if shellfish aquaculture prospers
Spreading Aquaculture Technology
seed necessary to start aquaculture, and as a result of our project so people not
regular guidance regarding aquaculture just in El Salvador but also in neighborThe Project for Shellfish Aquaculture work. Efforts are also being made to ing regions can have delicious shellfish
to enjoy.”
Development ended in 2010, but a promote sales of the farmed shellfish.
“There are no organized activities
Production Improvement and Extension
of Shellfish Aquaculture Project was among most fishing groups like those of SAWAJI Osamu, The Japan Journal
The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012
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