October 19, 2009

A decline in commercial catch has led the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Davao Region to shift its resources on aquaculture to maintain food production targets.

A decline of production at the Davao Gulf has affected the commercial fishery sector, said George Campeon, regional director of BFAR.

For the first half of 2009, aquaculture production target was raised to 14,673 tonnes from the 10,000 tonnes in the same period last year, while commercial production was reduced to 5,000 tonnes from 9,000 tonnes last year.

The BFAR was short of its aquaculture target by 22 percent in the first half this year, but Campeon said it is a temporary loss for a longer-term gain.

The agency will construct 35 mariculture units in the next few months, allocating PHP500,000 for each fish cages for the moorings, foundation and roofing systems.

An investor will need to spend PHP10,000 for the fingerlings, excluding the PHP200,000 initial investment for the structure, but the margin of profit is huge considering an average of 5,000 kg per harvest at three croppings each year.

The current 412 mariculture units in the region are mostly producing milkfish because of the lack of available fingerlings and breeders of other varieties. Of the production, only about 10 percent are shipped abroad while the rest are for domestic consumption.