Yap issued Fisheries Administrative Order No. 225 which allows the entry of vannamei shrimps into the country after results of the intensive studies undertaken for almost two years on the variety proved positive.
"The results of these exhaustive trials to ensure the safe introduction of P. vannamei stocks into the country are very positive, with no negative issues on biodiversity and the possibility of disease infecting our local industry have been encountered," he said.
"We expect the introduction of P. vannamei into our local fisheries sector to boost our ailing shrimp industry and bring it back to its glory days when production reached a high of 94,000 metric tons (MT) in 1994," he added.
Yap noted that while significant progress have been made in the farming of bangus, tilapia and seaweeds, the growth of the shrimp industry has remained stagnant.
Source: Baynihan