THE Department of Science and Technology-Mimaropa (DoST- Mimaropa) assisted a local white shrimp grower in Oriental Mindoro through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Setup) to infuse innovation in the aquaculture industry in the Mimaropa region.

Located in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, WTL Enterprise which is owned by a former OFW and visionary entrepreneur Wilfredo de Lara.

Pacific white shrimp, scientifically known as Litopenaeus vannamei, is among the world's most widely cultivated shrimp due to its ease of cultivation and rapid growth rate. However, shrimps grown in earthen ponds or ponds constructed in soil are highly vulnerable to diseases which lead to increased mortality.

'Earthen ponds tend to have low pH, salinity, and temperature as well as low dissolved oxygen during unfavorable climatic conditions, and thus creating an unfriendly environment for the cultured shrimp,' said Jesse Pine, the DoST-Provincial Science and Technology director in Oriental Mindoro.

The earthen ponds currently being used by WTL also limits productivity to only two harvesting seasons a year since it requires at least two months of preparation before restocking.

Confronted with these problems De Lara decided to seek the help of the DoST through SETUP last 2019 to acquire appropriate technologies to boost the productivity of his pacific white shrimp farm. Through the program, WTL was provided with 30 sets of Paddle Wheel Aerator and 25,480 square meters of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pond lining material.

'The technologies ensure an optimal oxygen supply, healthy water quality, and clean pond bottom for maximized shrimp growth, better survival rates, and resistance to diseases,' said Pine.