Camiguin's bangus industry gets boost

Sun.Star: Affordable fish protein is within reach with appropriate fish science and good fishery governance. This was the prevailing drive behind the launching of the first ever government-run multi-species fish hatchery in Sagay, Camiguin, last November 12. The P4.6-million fish hatchery will initially cater to the produce of the Bangus Breeding Facility of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Taguines Lagoon in Benoni, Mahinog this province. Both the Hatchery and Breeding facilities of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Northern Mindanao are aimed at attaining the government's goal of self-sufficiency in fisheries. Targeted for completion in the early part of next year, the hatchery will initially produce 800-thousand to 1.35-million milkfish fry monthly. Fry of other species, mostly high-value commodities like grouper, snappers, and sea bass are to be produced in the future. The site was selected due to the pristine waters of the rocky coast to supply good water quality to the hatchery and the absence of severe weather conditions in the island province for year-round operations, said Dr. Arnil C. Emata, BFAR-Northern Mindanao Consultant for Aquaculture and a renowned Fish Scientist. BFAR Director Malcomn I Sarmiento Jr. likened the hatchery complex to that of Gondol Multi-species Hatchery in the island of Bali, Indonesia which had produced fry of milkfish and groupers to supply the requirements of Southeast Asia. Currently, the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands still imports about 700-million Bangus Fry, mostly from Indonesia, to supply the input needs of the bangus growers, both fishpond and fish cage. BFAR Regional Director Arlene B. Pantanosas said that the region's Milkfish Development Program aims to make Northern Mindanao self-sufficient when it comes to bangus aquaculture. "Currently, we import fresh bangus and fingerlings for our bangus grow-out from Southern Mindanao and Westen Mindanao," Pantanosas said. She added that with the BFAR-Northern Mindanao's Milkfish Development Program going full steam, "Northern Mindanao will triple its bangus production currently at 8,000 MT per year or 3.2 percent of the country annual production." "Already, we have more than a hundred sexually mature bangus, locally known as sabalo, in a floating net cage at the Benoni Experimental Station of BFAR," Dr. Emata said. He said that the bangus brood stock can supply about 100-million eggs annually. The larvae to supply the hatchery will be sourced from seven-year-old breeders reared in a floating net cage at Taguines Lagoon in Benoni, Mahinog, Camiguin, which is 15 kilometers away by land from the hatchery. The breeders have continually spawned since July. Fry will then be produced in three weeks which will answer the fingerlings needs of the marine cage intensive culture in the Mariculture Park in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental. - Sun.Star