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Coral Farm Presented Crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus) Skin Industry in the Philippines to the NationalAcademy of Science and Technology Phils.
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The NAST supported a resolution summarizing their recommendations to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in order to provide necessary fiscal and regulatory framework to support emerging industries, including the crocodile skin industry. CPPI recommended that Government must support CPPI’s attempt to access more competitive technology for skin production, increase social acceptability of crocodile meat as an alternative protein source, support the development of by-products for therapeutic use, and provide the legal framework and necessary documentation for the sale of products. CPPI also suggests that an increase in Government support for conservation research would provide direct benefits to the Filipino people through community based sustainable ecotourism as source of livelihoods for local communities. The increase in the wild population of crocodiles would also increase the productivity of wetlands, thus benefiting those fishing villages with crocodiles in the wild.
The following Executive Summary was presented during the Technical Session on Biological Sciences (Chaired by NAST Academician Dr. Angel C. Alcala).
State of Crocodile Industry in the Philippines The crocodile farming industry in the Philippines is strictly regulated by CITES for the use of Crocodylus porosus in closed-cycle breeding upon production of second or F2 generation, making commercial international trade of their product less regulated. With the establishment of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) RP-Japan Crocodile Farming Institute (CFI), Palawan in 1988 (renamed “Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center, PWRCC), farming technology for crocodiles in the Philippines was developed. This technology has been transferred to private entities which passed through a stringent screening process (Manalo and Alcala 2013; Mercado 2008). Thus, in 1999, the DENR issued the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 99-45 or the Rules and Regulation on the SALE AND FARMING OF SALTWATER CROCODILE. This legal framework defined the stringent selection process for choosing competent private poultry and piggery farms that would utilize their original C. porosus founder stock from the Philippine Government CITES registered facility for the leather industry and direct trade for animals produced in commercial farms.
Inception of crocodile farming In 2000, 6 commercial farms out of nearly 80 applicants successfully passed the evaluation process conducted by Government. These 6 farms (3 in Luzon, 3 in Mindanao) pioneered this non-traditional industry and participated in commercial crocodile farming to develop local capability on Saltwater Crocodile farming. This was the birth of the crocodile industry in the Philippines. Crocodile farmers or “Cooperators” (DAO 99-45), obtained young crocodiles from the Government for grow-out until commercially available size. After 2-3 years of rearing, the skin quality was judged substandard by the international industry due to inappropriate rearing facility for producing quality, Class “A” skins. The “Cooperators” had no choice but to retain the stocks and convert to close system breeding in order to utilize rapidly maturing crocodiles. They became “accidental” crocodile breeding farms.
Industry development and economic contribution In order to strengthen ties between crocodile breeding farms, CPPI, a coalition of the 6 legitimate crocodile farms, was created. In coordination with the Philippine Government, CPPI pioneered the crocodile skin industry in the Philippines. CPPI likewise aims for conservation through sustainable use and management or value-driven conservation of the two crocodile species in the Philippines. Commercial farms were developed by integrating large-scale supply of culled layer, grower chickens and unwanted mortalities from piggeries and poultry operations as crocodile feeds, converting operational loss into cash commodity and ensuring non-competition with humans for food consumption.
After 8 years of high capital expenditures on infrastructure development and painstaking husbandry consultation to resolve farm issues and some capital errors, CPPI farms have obtained the most current and “State of the Art” technology. CPPI has significantly advanced the local crocodile farming industry to the extent of bringing in new technology and research outcomes on farm designs, innovations on husbandry practices, provisions of slaughterhouses, CITES recognition, introduction of meat products, and the near perfection of leather industry, bringing it closer to the achievement of international standards for crocodile farming and conservation.
To date, CPPI associated farms have approximately 25,000 crocodiles housed in a variety of facilities depending on their needs. Crocodile breeding cycle consists of four stages: breeding, incubation and hatching, nursery, and two phases of grow-out for skin production.
Commercial utilization of C. porosus for the production of valuable skins is the primary product of the industry. Of secondary importance is the introduction of crocodile meat as protein source for humans. Philippine crocodile farms started its contribution to the world crocodilian trade in 2008. With this small developing industry of 6 registered farms, two of which have processing facilities, there were about 4000 C. porosus skins have been exported in 2008-2012 for the leather industry. At present, frozen and processed meat products are slowly contributing to the local economy, an average of almost a ton of meat per month, equivalent to 45% of annual meat productions are consumed for domestic use. Other by-products (such as crocodile oil and blood) are being developed for pharmaceutical purposes. It is projected that a total of 10,000 salted raw C. porosus skins will be exported by CPPI associated farms over the next 5 years.
Support for conservation Crocodile Farming Industry in the Philippines is not mainly geared towards generating income for individual farms. CPPI is also working towards the conservation of two species of crocodile in the wild, focusing primarily in three priority sites in Mindanao: (1) Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape in which 36 juvenile C. mindorensis have been released back to natural habitat; (2) Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary where it aims to provide a long-term management plan that will address issues on human-crocodile coexistence; and (3) Ligawasan Marsh Game Refuge & Wildlife Sanctuary where it targets further research and development of a conservation action plan to uphold the possible increase in the population of both species. With these efforts, CPPI recognizes that the commercial crocodile industry in the Philippines has a responsibility to the Filipino people and its future generations to help conserve these two species of crocodiles in the natural habitat. This highly regulated industry can be a model for commercial and conservation partnership.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the CPPI associated farms for providing data and access to their individual farms: William T. Belo of Coral Agri-venture Farms Inc., Vicente P. Mercado of Pag-asa Farms, JKMercado & Sons Inc., Salvador S. Chan of Golden Acres Farm Inc., Heintje O. Limketkai of Philippine Ostrich and Crocodile Farm Inc., Daniel C. Barlis of Valderrama Aquaculture Farms Inc., and Antonio Oposa of Pulunan Farm.
References
Manalo, R.I. and Alcala, A.C. (2013). Status of the crocodile (Crocodylus porosus, Schneider) industry in the Philippines. Trans. Nat. Acad. Sci. & Tech. (Philippines) 35(1): 219-222.
Manalo, R.I., A.C. Alcala, V. P. Mercado, W. T. Belo, D. C. Barlis and S. S. Chan. (2013). National academy of science and technology Philippines supports a resolution for the crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) skin industry in the Philippines. Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter 32(3): 18-20.
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