COMPANY PROFILE

HISTORY

Almost 3 decades ago, Richard and Lolita Ty, a husband and wife team, started Aquascapes Philippines Co. It originated from their keen interest in what was still an exotic hobby of keeping Marine (i.e., salt-water) Aquarium fishes. Little by little, the hobby grew from its humble beginnings with just a few aquariums at the Ty family's front yard to Aquascapes' first commercial scale aquarium facility. In 1985, the main aquarium warehouse was transferred to its current location--a modern fish aquarium facility situated just 10 minutes from the international airport. It was featured in the December 1985 issue (Vol. 8 No. 12) of Fresh and Marine Aquarium (FAMA) Magazine, in an article entitled "Moving Forward in The Philippines" (p.56). The main office still resides at its original location in the heart of Metro Manila.

Throughout the years, our product variety has also increased. The first few exports were exclusively marine aquarium fishes only. Now, we are able to supply a complete variety for the most demanding hobbyist: marine fish, fresh water fish, water plants, aquarium sand and pebbles, as mentioned in our products page. Our worldwide customers have come to rely on our good quality and professionalism.

Our colleagues further attest to our leadership in the industry when they elected Richard Ty as the founding president of the Philippine Tropical Fish Exporters Association (PTFEA) way back when it began in 1984. In 1986, Lolita Ty became the 2nd president when Richard Ty declined to be nominated for a 3rd term. Since then, Lolita Ty has been serving the industry as president of PTFEA.

HISTORICAL MILESTONES

The first product diversification began with the introduction of the pioneering dry goods section starting with aquarium sand and has now been expanded to include natural pebbles, stones and driftwood.

In the mid-1970s Aquascapes Philippines Co. formed its sister company Seascapes Development Co., for Tuna Fishing operations for supplying sashimi grade Tuna to the Japanese market.

In the mid-1980s Aquascapes Philippines Co. was one of the first businesses to venture into the prawn hatchery business, and remained a strong presence in that industry until the industry reached its peak.

In 1984, Aquascapes' success in the Philippine live tropical fish industry attracted other individuals who were only focused on the profits without regard to the marine environment and its inhabitants. These individuals tainted the image of the industry, but this development has even strengthened our vision further. This led us to share our vision with a handful of like-minded exporters, and together we founded the Philippine Tropical Fish Exporters Association.

In the early 1990s Aquascapes Philippines Co. branched into fresh water fish production through strategically located aquaculture farm sites in Tanza and Naic (in the Cavite province), which are very near Manila and offer excellent climate and resources for fish farming.

In 1995 Aquascapes Philippines Co. started its agricultural division which is focused on the high value crops such as hybrid watermelon (seedless red, seedless yellow, yellow, striped, etc.), honey dew, large variety bell pepper, cucumber, dragon fruit and the latest is the Japanese sweet corn. This agricultural division was formed in cooperation with many Taiwanese technicians, each having specialized in a certain crop. This was initially for the export market only, and eventually, as local demand kept increasing, the local sales became the main thrust up to now.

In 1996, the next generation of Aquascapes' management began when Richard and Lolita's eldest son started his full-time involvement in the business after spending almost a year training under one of our long-time customers in London.

In 1997, Aquascapes launches its website, to cater to the growing number of tech savvy customers. It is one of the first tropical fish exporters to have an internet presence.

In 2002, Aquascapes becomes one of the first companies in the world to have Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) certification, as an example for the other companies that good practices ensures a healthy business.

Up to now, under the leadership of Richard Ty, Aquascapes Philippines Co. continues to reinvent itself as one of the leading exporters of marine tropical fishes and natural sand & pebbles.

MISSION STATEMENT and COMPANY VISION

We are for the promotion of the live tropical fish industry through safe and responsible fishing.

Aquascapes started from a hobby, and not as a commercial venture. As hobbyists turned entrepreneurs, our primary concern has always been for the environment and the fishes, before everything else. Our business is always focused for the long term viability of this industry, and the only way for this is through safe, responsible and sustainable practices. Aquascapes has and continues to give away expensive, custom-made monofilament nets to our fishermen to ensure that they have the proper equipment to catch fishes in environment friendly methods only.

We want to be as self-reliant as possible, which is why we have developed a good business model and continue to perfect it. We believe in the saying "a dead fish is the most expensive fish", and this fuels us to achieve our goal of zero wastage from sea to aquarium hobbyist. Customers are our first priority. Therefore, we make sure that all our customers get the best service possible.

We have always been an active participant of all efforts to development a system that ensures a sustainable industry for the benefit of everyone - from the fishermen up to the aquarium hobbyist.

We continue to reinvent ourselves to serve as a role model as a new type of a commercially successful and ecologically responsible member of the marine aquarium fish industry, who are not only concerned about economic aspect but also for the welfare of all the stakeholders and the environment.

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