AN international research center has announced that the first rehabilitated hatchery in Western Visayas, which is expected to produce 5 million to 10 million bangus fry every year, started its operations to address the persistent shortage of milkfish seeds in the country.
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC/AQD) Chief Dan Baliao said in a statement that the revival of the satellite hatchery in Western Visayas “is simply the beginning of many yet to come.”
The 1,787-square-meter Batan Bangus Satellite Hatchery in Aklan was launched in February this year under the National Fry Sufficiency Program of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR).
According to Baliao, by rehabilitating hatcheries sites, the production of milkfish fry in the country would be maximized to meet the yearly Philippine demand of about 2.5 billion.
To meet this massive requirement for fry, Baliao said farmers have resorted to importing fry from neighboring countries.
About half of the 400,000 metric tons of milkfish consumed by Filipinos were sourced as fry from hatcheries in Indonesia and Taiwan before being imported for grow-out in the Philippines, he said, citing industry sources.
The hatchery used to produce shrimp fry in 1983 but outbreaks of shrimp during the 1990s prompted the hatchery to cease its operations in 1995. Now, it is one of the central hubs that produce quality, locally produced milkfish fry in Western Visayas.
In February, Baliao said the center donated 1.1 million pieces of milkfish larvae and 30 liters of rotifers—microscopic aquatic animals that serve as natural food—to jump-start the hatchery’s operations.
Aside from the hatchery in the Municipality of Batan, the group said another satellite hatchery located in the campus of the Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College in Concepcion town is gearing up for its operations.
In southern Iloilo, the group also identified 12 hatcheries that were abandoned or are non-operational because of sickness or death of its owner, bankruptcy and lack of finances to continue operations.
Wilfredo D. de los Santos, chief of the Fisheries Production Support and Services Division, BFAR Region 6, said “this collaborative undertaking with BFAR, SEAFDEC, and private partners is a step forward to answer the shortage of bangus fry and to curb our dependence on its importation.”
De los Santos also said the involvement of the agencies and key industry players is a “necessary investment” to achieve fry sufficiency in the country.
Since 2018, the group said it has been working with BFAR-6 in identifying non-operational, abandoned, or damaged hatcheries to ramp up fry production in the province of Iloilo.
At the moment, SEAFDEC/AQD and DA-BFAR are also working on establishing other legislated hatcheries across the country.
Once constructed, the group said each marine hatchery will be able to produce 25 million fry annually to provide for the seed requirements of local fish farmers in their own respective regions.
Image courtesy of www.seafdec.org.ph