TACLOBAN CITY- Eastern Visayas is aiming to increase milkfish output by16% this year to lessen the entry of bangus from other provinces and achieve more food sufficiency in the region.
Ernesto Hilvano, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional director, told Leyte Samar Daily Express that this target was set by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap in their recent meeting.
In 2006, the region produced a total of 8,783.83 metric tons of milkfish locally known as bangus. This year, the region is expected to add up 1,405.41 metric tons from last year's yield through combined production from fish cage operators and fishpond owners.
Hilvano revealed that Eastern Visayas imports 35 to 40 metric tons of milkfish every week from Bohol, Iloilo and Davao areas to supply the market demand of this variety of fish.
"This means that we need to produce more to be sufficient and depend on our own productivity," Hilvano said.
One of the challenges to the bangus production in the region is the shortage in the supply of fingerlings.
"We've been pushing through the establishment of more bangus hatcheries which is envisioned to provide the fingerlings needs of the 14 mariculture zones in the region," Hilvano told LSDE.
Since the supply of bangus fingerlings is not enough, the region has been importing fingerlings from top bangus producing regions in the Visayas and Mindanao.
In the past three years, the BFAR office here ventured into a mass production of milkfish by establishing fish cages. According to Hilvano, the region has 14 mariculture zones with hundreds of fish cages.
Bulk of mariculture zone milkfish produce comes from the San Juanico Strait where a fish cage yields an average of 10 metric tons of bangus a week during harvest time.
Hilvano said that the area is very ideal for fish production since fish cages would not be easily destroyed by typhoons and the seawater current is not prune to pollution.
The mariculture zone is patterned after the industrial estate approach where investors pay for annual lease, an amount much less than the cost of acquiring new areas for investors' business ventures.
The BFAR official claimed that since the launching of maricluture parks, more investors are interested to operate fish cages in the region. Mariculture, commonly known as culture of fish in a cage or a pen and a component industry of aquaculture, is a growing industry in Eastern Visayas.
The BFAR regional chief said that bangus mariculture achieves both good taste and coastal environment enhancement. Because of its natural setting, bangus in fish cages or fish pens are tastier than those in fishponds. The mobility of bangus is better and the waste freely flows out from the cage or pen.
On the other hand, the natural coastal environment is enhanced because mangroves, which serve as fish sanctuary, source of marine food and playground for juvenile fish, are no longer destroyed for fishpond development. And, equally important is that siltation and salinization no longer occur.
Milkfish is the predominant species being cultured in the country. Hundreds of years ago bangus was grown in ponds along coastal areas. Bangus is a popular table fare among Filipinos.
