Davao City’s tilapia hatchery is expected to produce 500,000 tilapia this year, the City Agriculturist Office’s (CAgrO) said.
The tilapia hatchery, operated by the City Government of Davao, aims to support fishers and ensure food security by increasing the city’s fish supply.
Aimee Evora, head of CAgrO’s Fishery Resources Management Services Division, said they expect to produce the tilapia fingerlings this month or in February.
She said 600 fishermen from all over the city will benefit from the program, with each farmer receiving 500 to 1,000 pieces of tilapia fingerlings.
“Ang target namo nga ma-produce sa hatchery is 500,000 pieces nga tilapia, and ang amoang target nga beneficiaries is 600 nga fish farmers. So anytime nga ang atoang mga fish farmers mu-request, naa nata dayo’y mahatag nga fingerlings (Our hatchery aims to produce 500,000, and 600 fish farmers are our target beneficiaries. So anytime our fish farmers request, we will immediately provide fingerlings),” she said.
“Hopefully this month or next month makahinay-hinay ta’g produce kay ang amoang purpose ato maka-produce nata’g sarili nato nga fingerlings nga di nata mu-agad og procurement (Hopefully by this month or next month we will be able to produce because our goal is to produce our own fingerlings without relying on procurement),” she added.
She said that last year, CAgrO dispersed 155,000 tilapia, 55,000 Hito (catfish), and 20,000 bangus (milkfish) fingerlings.
She said the hito and tilapia fingerlings were distributed to all districts in Davao City. The bangus (milkfish) fingerlings, on the other hand, were handed out to fish cage operators in Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya.
She also said Davao City produced approximately 23.65 metric tons of tilapia and 270.14 metric tons of hito last year.
She said the farmers benefitted from the fingerlings dispersal, particularly in highland regions to ensure a consistent supply of fish.
“Nakatabang ni siya in terms sa food security, especially kato’ng mga upland districts nato, layo baya ila’ng area sa isda sa dagat so ang main source nila sa fish kay fish pond. Dako ni siyang tabang sa ilaha kay makabuhi naman sila [og isda] within sa ilahang area (It helped in terms of food security, particularly in our upland communities where fish ponds are the primary supply of fish due to their remote location from the sea. It is a big help for them because they can raise fish within their area),” she said.
She said that in addition to the city’s tilapia hatchery, the office also intends to continue with its training program this year, teaching farmers how to make fish food.
“Tudluan nato ang atoang mga fish farmers kung makaya nga maka-produce nalang sila’g ilahang sariling (fish) food para ma-less ang gastos, gamit lang pod ang mga locally available ingredients (We will teach our fish farmers to produce their own (fish) food to lessen cost, using only locally available ingredients),” she said. CIO
