In the late '70s the Netherlands Antilles Federal Government delegated the Agriculture and Fisheries sectors administration to the Governments of the three islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao - ABC islands), which, through the evaluation carried out by a joint working group of experts, fixed the development priorities. A project to re-stock the over fished queen conch (Strombus gigas) was included among the selected priorities.
Accordingly, a small aquaculture laboratory (100 m2 with 1500 m3 total pond volume) was built in Bonaire at the beginning of the 1980s and a queen conch rearing and release programme was successfully carried out (a production of 3 million 5 cm conch was achieved from 1982 to 1988 - Hensen and Grashof, 1991). This success resulted in the formation of the inter-island co-operation programme in aquaculture through the establishment, in 1983, of Fundashon Marcultura, with the following objectives:
In 1987 the Fundashon Marcultura Board of Directors, which included the ABC Ministers charged with the administration of the agriculture sector as well as the Directors of Agriculture Departments, decided to build up a new aquaculture station with larger facilities in order to strengthen the aspects related to production activity. The Dutch Government agreed to support the capital expenses whereas the operational costs were the responsibility of the islands. The new aquaculture station (appendix 3), sited in Sorobon on the windward south-eastern side of Bonaire island, became operative in 1991. The programme included, besides conch and intensive shrimp rearing, the rearing of marine and fresh water ornamental fish, Tilapia red hybrid, tridacna clam (Tridacna derassa), spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and the cultivation of seaweed (genus: Euchema and Gracilaria); seaweed production was shortly abandoned due to the high infestation by epiphytes.
The station was supposed to be economically self-sufficient within a short period (two years), especially through the intensive production of shrimp (50 tons/year, to be realised in 16 raceways of 180 m3 each). Unfortunately this goal was not achieved and furthermore, the extremely aggressive environment which characterises the east coast of the island (constant strong wind and salt spray from the sea) caused severe damage to the structures and equipment, creating operating problems. Repair work only ended in 1993 and this has caused heavy financial constraints on the ABC Governments which supported the maintenance and personnel costs throughout this unproductive period.
Together with the election of a new Board of Directors, a new operative programme started at the end of 1993 with the following objectives:
The importance of a short-term economic return was again underlined. The initial production was based on intensive shrimp rearing along with the production of freshwater ornamental cichlids but once again, the productive target was not achieved and the causes of this failure were not fully identified (pathological problems? Lack of aeration?). This final low yield placed the farm in heavy economic difficulties (the global deficit rose to about 1.2 million US $).
As a consequence, in October 1994 the Board of Directors took the following decisions:
On the basis of the relevant documents consulted and the findings of local research, the following remarks can be made concerning the failure of the programme carried out by Fundashon Marcultura:
the Board of Directors' past acceptance of the concept of the short-term economic self-sufficiency of the pilot coastal aquaculture station, appears unwise, not giving due consideration to the start up costs of a new productive activity and its research components,
the choice of intensive shrimp rearing in raceways as the most productive model for the pilot farm, made on the base of preliminary results achieved under small scale experimental conditions, has proved to be a major mistake. It is well known that large scale intensive shrimp rearing can only be carried out under strictly controlled environmental conditions, which was not the case with Fundashon Marcultura's aquaculture station,
no clear distinction was made between the production element (theoretically responsible for the future economic self-sufficiency of the farm) and the research element, which should have concentrated on the most productive species instead of looking a such a wide range of topics. No quantitative analysis of the various schemes has been undertaken, with the consequence that some positive results, such as those achieved in the area of fresh water ornamental fish, have been hidden by the general high cost of the global pilot activity,
no surveys were performed to evaluate in advance the real market value of the farm produce on the local as well as the export market. Little attention has been paid to the logistic problems as, for example, the difficulties which arose because of the limited air transport available on Bonaire,
weaknesses exist in the economic evaluation of the project so far. Even the evaluation recently undertaken by financial experts (Berben, pers. com.), under the direction of the Board of Directors, has been affected by incorrect production figures,
external technical help was asked for too late. After their visits in 1993, Mr. Spotts (Miami Aquaculture Inc.) and Mr. Velarde Silva (Criadero de Chalmes- Costa Rica) clearly showed in their technical reports (Velarde Silva's second report was not available in October 1994) the productive limits of Marcultura Station, but their recommendations were not adequately followed up.
The closure of Fundashon Marcultura aquaculture station represents a major set-back for the development of aquaculture in the Netherlands Antilles. Besides the distrust provoked by this failure toward the real feasibility of aquaculture in the islands, this ABC joint programme can not furnish any positive results if closed in such a sudden and final manner. Some recommendations need to be made:
The experience gained by the existing staff is an asset to the ABC Islands and as such should not be wasted. Nine staff were employed at the station: the managing director, two graduate technicians, three experienced workers and two unskilled workers. With the exception of these and two DAHF fisheries officers in Aruba, there is no-one else within the ABC Islands with these skills in aquaculture,
an accurate evaluation of the technical and economic performance of the different lines of production on the farm should be made immediately. A number proved valid (freshwater cichlids, shrimp in earth ponds and, probably, tridacna clam or red Tilapia in raceways). The possibility of activating the station again, with more realistic economic expectations, should be examined; the necessary modifications (pumping station, an increase in the number of earth ponds) should be made strictly in relation to productive results and the derived income,
the accurate analysis suggested in the previous point could also be useful in presenting the farm in a more positive light to possible future investors,
future aquaculture initiatives in the ABC islands must be preceded by an evaluation of the potential of both the local and export markets. This is a basic requirement for a correct estimation of the expected revenues and a sound financial analysis of the activity,
a complete closure of Marcultura's facilities (or their employment for uses other than aquaculture) also means losing the potential for local training personnel in the future. Even if the facilities are sold, Government authorities should try to maintain access to the technical information and guarantee training for their staff.
