Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
Although tilapia is popular among Filipinos , the sleek and silvery bangus (or milk fish) is still the most favorite fish. After all, it is not considered the country’s fish icon for nothing.
The popularity of bangus even extends to other countries. The Philippines has been exporting bangus to the United States, Middle East, England, Canada, and Japan. “We export bangus to countries where there are a lot ase of its mild, sweet flesh, and its melt-in-the-mouth belly fat. The popularity of bangus can be gleaned in such recipes as bangus en tocho (fried bangus served with a sauce of any of the following: tahure, tokwa, or tausi), bulanglang na bangus (with eggplants, ampalaya, sitao, malunggay, onion, tomatoes, rice washing and bagoong), rellenong bangus (formerly a party dish; now available even in school cafeterias and malls), and bangus lumpia.
For a very long time, the Philippine aquaculture industry was virtually synonymous with bangus culture. The introduction of marine cages has greatly expanded the range of culture systems under which bangus is now being produced: brackishwater ponds, fishpens in freshwater lakes, fishpens in shallow bays, lake-based cages whether fixed or floating, and sea-based cages. Perhaps no other aquaculture species has wider range of environment and culture systems under which it is being produced.
Bangus is one of the most important fish species being cultured in the Philippines. “Bangus has always been the most important species cultured in the Philippines in terms of area and production,” said Dr. Guerrero.
The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), a line agency of the Department of Agriculture, said that about 98% of bangus production comes from aquaculture; only a small amount comes from marine fisheries. Bangus is farmed in brackishwater, freshwater, and marine water.
Bangus can be raised anywhere in the country. However, the top bangus producing regions are Regions 6, 3, 1 and 4A, while top producing provinces are Capiz, Iloilo, Bulacan, Negros Occidental, Pangasinan, and Quezon.
The BAS reported that from 2002 to 2011, production of bangus from aquaculture grew at an average rate of 2.62 percent. Average production during the ten-year period was 312,666 metric tons. In 2011, aquaculture production was valued at PhP30.6 million with an annual growth rate of 9.21 percent.
Bangus (scientific name: Chanos chanos) is most closely related to carps and catfishes. It occurs in the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean, tending to school around coasts and islands with reefs. A warm water species, it prefers water temperatures between 20-33 degrees Centigrade.
Bangus is one of the most studied fish in the world. Scientists have found that they spawn only in fully saline water. Females spawn up to 7 million eggs, which hatch in about 24 hours. Spawning and fertilization take place at night. The frequency of spawning per year is still unknown.
Eggs and larvae are pelagic up to two to three weeks. In nature, the larvae seek out clear coastal and estuarine waters warmer than 23°C with 10-32 parts per thousand salinity and abundant phytoplankton. Incubating eggs and newly hatched larvae are transported to the shore by currents where they are gathered by people in brackish waters such as shallow sandy areas, mouths of rivers, and lagoons.
Older larvae migrate onshore and settle in coastal wetlands (mangroves, estuaries) during the juvenile stage, or occasionally enter freshwater lakes. Under natural conditions, larvae and fry migrate to tidal pools and settle in them for one month until they become juveniles, then migrate into lagoons, lakes and shallow waters until they reach adolescence before returning to the sea for further grown and sexual maturation.
In the past, bangus fry abounded in the country. In recent years, however, the number collected has been dwindling due to the destruction of natural habitats brought about by the extensive conversion of mangrove areas to fishponds, destructive fishing methods (like dynamite fishing) and environmental degradation (deforestation and siltation), among others.
Consequently, with the decrease in seed supply, the cost of fry and fingerlings has increased significantly over the years. As a result, the Philippines has to import fry from Indonesia and Taiwan since both have lower prices compared to those sold in the country, according to Dr. Guerrero.
Normally, bangus fry appear in different places and various seasonal peaks. Areas like Southern Leyte, Western Samar, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Occidental, Antique, and Iloilo have two peak seasons: March to July and October to November. Provinces like Cotabato and Zamboanga del Sur have fry available year-round.
Livelihood Options for Coastal Communities, published by the Silang-based International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, says peak gathering days occur during high tides after two or three days following a new moon or a full moon. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) or peak-spawning season of bangus starts in March to June and drops in August to September.
During the breeding season, the rising GSI value coincides with rising seawater temperature. Spawning regularly occurs among five- to seven-year-old female breeder (sabalo) in the wild. Fertility is about 300,000 to one million eggs per kilogram weight of sabalo.
Several bangus fry collection methods are practiced in the Philippines. This includes fry barriers or fences, seine nets and “bulldozer” nets.
The collected bangus fry are placed in well-ventilated containers, preferably wooden vats or big earthen jars filled with clean brackishwater. The containers are kept on cool areas. Overexposure to sunlight is avoided or the fry die. Also, the fry are brought to the concessionaires’ buying stations without delay.
The lack of fry was cited as one of the many problems that beset bangus production in the country. Bangus growers need to worry anymore about where to get their fry. The Finfish Hatcheries, Inc. (FHI) has been selling bangus fry since 1997.
FHI, the first and largest commercial fry hatchery in the country, is part of the business integration program of the Agribusiness Unit of the Alcantara Group. It now supplies more than 50% of the national requirements for bangus fry.
Its hatchery is in barangay Lun Masla of Malapatan in Sarangani Province. Here, more than 10,000 breeders are maintained and managed to produce bangus eggs on a daily basis throughout the year. The eggs are collected, cleaned and hatched. The hatchlings are grown to the marketable sizes in 18-21 days in larval ponds. During the growing period, they are fed with a mixture of planktons and commercial feeds.
The breeders are 50% males and 50% females. Sexing is a tedious work as male and females have to be chosen carefully and tagged. Some breeders have already reached the age of 25 and yet they are still breeding in groups.
It takes 5 years for a bangus to mature sexually. FHI selects breeders for commercial production only when they are 8 years old. A sabalo can produce seven kilos of eggs in one year. And one kilo consists of 750,000 eggs.
Bangus spawns in ponds in frenzy at night. The sabalo release the eggs while the males discharge the milt. Fertilization happens externally in the pond water. There is no need for hormone induction for mature breeders. The eggs are collected in nets in the early morning. They are cleaned and placed in the larval ponds immediately.
The bangus eggs hatch in the ponds within 24 hours. The hatchlings feed on the yolk sac for about 2-3 days. They undergo morphological transformations. As first feeds, the larva are supplied natural food in a mixture of zoo- and phyto-planktons. Commercial feeds are provided in the last quarter of the production.”
According to FHI, more Filipino farmers are now seeding their ponds and cages with bangus fry being sold by FHI, which has major dealers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It maintains sales offices in Makati, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Alabel, Sarangani, its head office. For further details, readers can visit its website: www.saranganifry.com.
“Aquaculture in the Philippines will continue to improve as needs for food and livelihood opportunities are enhanced by the growing population,” FHI said in a statement. “The base of any aquaculture is the ability of the country to complete the production cycle in culture. Any seafood production system that relies on wild stocks cannot be sustainable. FHI is at the forefront of this service in the Philippines.”
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