October 15, 2007

 

Milkfish bones find its way to Philippine fish feed

 

 

The Pangasinan State University (PSU) in northern Philippines has discovered a more profitable way in getting rid of milkfish or "bangus" bones.

 

Three PSU fishery students tried creating fish meal using bangus bones and spines and came out with a feed formula that can be used for tilapia, another fish cultured in the province.

 

According to Rosie Abalos, associate dean of the PSU College of Fisheries, the experiments conducted by Dan Clark Rosario, May Anne Catabay and Efren Soy has resulted on the use of bangus bones and spines in formulating feed for tilapia.

 

The students formulated feeds using three different quantities of bangus bones and spines¡ªpreparations with 20 percent, 25 percent and 30 percent of bones and spines.

 

The experimental feed's other ingredients were wheat flour, vitamin and mineral mix, vegetable oil, soybean meal and rice bran.

 

The feed was in pellet form, sun dried for three days and packed in plastic containers.

 

The study revealed that the formulation with 25 percent bangus bones and spines was the most effective.

 

Besides, the introduction of the experimental feed for saline tilapia in ponds did not affect the quality of the pond water, Abalos said.

 

The study recommended the use of bangus bones and spines as feed ingredient for saline tilapia using both the 20 and 25 percent formulation as they provided better growth of fish, higher survival rate and more efficient feed conversion rates, Abalos said.

The laboratory tests conducted by the Department of Science and Technology in San Fernando City showed that 100 grams of boiled bangus bones contain 34 grams of protein and 25.7 grams of crude fat.

 

They also used a brand of commercial feed to compare the reception of the cultured tilapia to the new fish feed in the experiment conducted at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Research Center in Dagupan City.

 

Westly Rosario, Research Centre chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said if the fish meal is commercialized, it could have a tremendous impact on the aquaculture industry because it is less expensive than imported feed.

 

Cultured fish is usually fed with feeds that use imported ingredients, thus are expensive, he said.

 

Expenses for fish feed constitute 60 percent of the operational cost of aquaculture and generally is the most expensive component of the industry.

 

Rosario, however, said while there are many bangus processors in Pangasinan, the waste products are not enough yet to manufacture feeds to meet the demands of the fishery industry in the province.

 

For the meantime, the study's results made bangus processors happy as Abalos said they have already found a "profitable way of disposing milkfish bones".