Pursuant to Section 47 of R.A. No.8550, otherwise known as the Fishery Code of the Philippines, the LLDA hereby adopts Section 9 of the Code of Practice for Aquaculture under Fishery Administrative Order No. 214, Series of 2001 dated September 17, 2001, to govern artificial feeding, feed use and management in aquaculture areas in Laguna de Bay, in order to preserve the ecological integrity of the lake, as follows:

"Section 9. Feed, feed use and management. -The following practices shall be adopted to improve the efficiency of supplemental feeds and feed management in aquaculture and reduce the amount of waste entering the [ponds] lake:

a. Feeds shall be selected as to their high utilization rates to reduce nutrient pollution from uneaten feeds and excretory products;

b. Feed characteristics shall include balanced levels of amino acids and other nutrients appropriate for the age of the fish, high palatability to stimulate rapid consumption, and high stability to prevent rapid nutrient release;

c. Ideally, extruded feeds shall be used; 

d. Feeds shall be stored in cool, dry areas to prevent mold and other contaminants from forming; 

e. Medical feeds shall be used only if and when necessary for the control of specific disease;  

f. Feeding management in lake-based aquaculture shall be inconformity with the carrying capacity of the lake ;  

g. Good feeding practices shall include frequent feeding in small quantities of feed several times through the day, using feeding trays and even distribution of feeds in fishpen/cage;  

h. Department of Agriculture Administrative Order No.16 on the "Nutrient Standard for Aquaculture Feeds" and other regulations of the Bureau of Animal Industry shall be complied with; and  

i. Records of daily feed application rates shall be kept to assess feed conversion ratio (FCR) .

Accordingly, all fishpen and fishcage operators who are covered by this Circular are required to submit on or before the end of the last quarter, the report on the volume of feeds used including the quality or type of feeds for records purposes.  

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately I and remain enforced unless otherwise revoked, amended or superceded.

For the information, guidance and strict compliance of all concerned.