July 30, 2008

 

Mindanao's high-end fish hatcheries to benefit on soaring demand in Asia

 
 

The Philippine island of Mindanao is set to further develop its commercial fish hatchery sector, as demand in Asia for expensive fish grows and with global supply declining, said Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM).

 

It is estimated that every year, the China and Hong Kong market consumes about 1,000 tonnes of adult abalone worth US$14 million and 2,000 tonnes of adult grouper, worth US$35 million.

 

With diminishing supplies due to overfishing, the hike in consumer demand has driven up prices of high-end fish species such as tropical abalone, tiger grouper and humpback grouper.

 

While the price increase helped to bolster investor interest in commercial fish cultivation, Mindanao currently does not have enough fish hatcheries to support a consistent supply of high-value fish for grow-out fish farmers, said Marlon Libot, GEM's team leader for business growth.

 

Libot added that many hatcheries are only selling fingerlings in their vicinity as they cannot supply the high demand of the fish-cage growers on other islands.

 

In a move to increase production, GEM is working with the local government of a neighbouring island, the Philippines' government fishery agency and private groups to launch a US$589,034 fish hatchery project.

 

The hatchery will be run by fishing and canning operator Mega Fishing Corp., and is expected to have an annual output of about 400,000 grouper fingerlings and up to 3.4 million abalone spats.

 

GEM is a US-funded association that aims to facilitate economic growth in Mindanao.

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