Milkfish (Bangus) (Bangus) Floating Cage Culture Project in Dauis, Bohol. Philippines by Edmundo Enderez – March 31, 2011 I.
Introduction
1. The The prog progra ram m on Comm Commun unit ityy-ba base sed d coas coasta tall resou resourc rce e mana manage geme ment nt (CB (CB-CR -CRM) M) is being implemented in order to develop the capacity of the coastal and fishing communities in resource management and income diversification. diversification. In Bohol, the mari marine ne fish fish catc catch h sh show owed ed decl declin inin ing g tren trend d (see (see Grap Graph h belo below) w) desp despit ite e the the implementation implementation of CRM program by different stakeholders. stakeholders. Intrusion of commercial commercial fishing boats into the municipal waters of Bohol exacerbates overfishing and the use of illegal methods of fishing that degrade the marine fisheries habitat continues to be a problem problem.. This is is attribut attributed ed to the the big deman demand d for fish fish and and other other aquatic aquatic products products.. However, However, the the lack of unders understand tanding ing on overfi overfishin shing g due to too too much much fishin fishing g press pressur ure e and reductio reduction n in the fish fish carryi carrying ng capaci capacity ty of the sea due to fisheries habitat degradation, which reinforce each other, has led the fishers to catch fish indiscrimina indiscriminately tely for as long as as they make profits. profits. The end result result is that the present fish stock biomass is at much lower level which can only reproduce so much fish population and the present capacity of the sea can only carry not much total fish volume.
Source of data: BAS
2. The The Map Map abov above e show shows s that that pov pover erty ty inc incid iden ence ce in in Boh Bohol ol is is rel relat ativ ivel ely y hig high. h. Aside from the increasing demand for fish, it is the lack of employment other than fishing that forced poor fishers to catch fish indiscriminately. 3. In ord order er to to meet meet the the inc incre reas asin ing g dema demand nd for for fis fish h and and alle allevi viat ate e the the pove povert rty y of the fisherfolk, there is really a need to let a significant significant number of fishers shift to non-fishing economic economic activities. Just what like China and Vietnam Vietnam are doing, the Philippines through its Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is earnest in developing developing the mariculture mariculture industry. industry. The brackishwater brackishwater fishpond fishpond industry industry which
provides the bulk of the production of cultured fish (mainly bangus) is being limited by the ban on mangrove conversion conversion into fishponds. fishponds. This is particularly particularly true in Bohol as shown in the Graph below that milkfish production in brackishwater ponds has leveled off or there is very little annual increase.
5. In Barang Barangay ay Songcu Songculan lan,, Dauis Dauis,, Bohol, Bohol, SOGUFA SOGUFA was formed formed to engage engage in CBCR CBCRM M and and live liveli liho hood od deve develo lopm pmen entt with with the the assi assist stan ance ce of PROC PROCES ESSS-Bo Boho hol, l, Foundation for Philippine Environment-Bohol Marine Triangle (FPE-BMT), and then the PADAY PADAYONON-BMT BMT.. SOGUFA SOGUFA memb members ers under under the the leaders leadership hip of its its Chairm Chairman, an, Juanito Obispo, started with seaweed culture project in a portion of the municipal water water fronting fronting their Barangay. Barangay. Due to poor production production in their seaweed seaweed culture culture project for several reasons, they finally decided to venture into the bangus floating cage culture project. II. II.
SOGU SO GUFA FA bang bangus us floa floati ting ng cag cage cul cultu ture re proj projec ectt
1. The The floa floati ting ng cag cages es are are ins insta tall lled ed in in an an area area abo about ut 150 150 met meter ers s awa away y from from shoreline and at depth depth of not less than 5 meters during lowest lowest tide. There are 2 tourist resort resort establishments along along the beach near the project project site. Due to misunderstanding misunderstanding on the official use of the nearshore nearshore water and the mistaken mistaken belief of resort owners that the project is a source of water pollution, a conflict arose between SOGUFA and resort resort owners. The case was brought brought to the attention of the LGU which settled the the matter after the following following actions: SOGUFA chairman chairman explained how feeding is done to prevent feed waste and the process that prevents accumulation accumulation of fish wastes at the sea bottom and SOGUFA agreed to dismantle the fixed caretaker’s hut and provide navigational lane for the resort boats.
2. The locati location on of the the pro projec jectt site site (near (near Tagbi Tagbilar laran an City) City) and and the sourc source e of of bangus fingerlings (Calape which is more or less 40 kms away) are shown in the Map below.
3. In the the las lastt quar quarte terr of 20 2005 05,, the the SOGU SOGUFA FA mem membe bers rs oper operat ated ed a dem demo-s o-siz ize e bangus floating cage culture culture project project as shown shown in the picture picture below. below. Through the FPE-commissioned FPE-commissioned technician/consultant technician/consultant who is the writer of this paper, the demo project had provided the SOGUFA members with a “practical crash course” on bangus floating floating cage culture technology technology adoption: adoption: site selection, selection, construction construction of a
4m x 2.5m x 2m cage, purchase and transport of fingerlings from BFAR farm in Calape, acclimatization, acclimatization, stocking at density of 20 pcs/cu.m. of 4-6-inch size bangus, feeding at the amount based on total biomass multiplied by feeding rate based on ABW, maintenance of cage structures particularly particularly the net which needs regular cleaning or change for sanitation, growth rate and duration of culture period.
4. After After develo developin ping g SOGU SOGUFA FA’s ’s capab capabili ility ty and capac capacity ity on manag managing ing said said projec project, t, it decided to make project project expansion as shown in the the pictures below. Key technical and financial data are also presented below.
a. The The firs firstt comm commer erci cial al ope opera rati tion on of of SOGU SOGUFA FA pro proje ject ct was was sta start rted ed in in Sept Sept 200 2006 6 utilizing a cage measuring 12 x 5 x 2.5 with financial assistance from Provincial Agricultural Agricultural Office of Bohol under the SMILE SMILE program. In Nov 2006, additional cage cage
with same measurement was operated through the support of DOLE for P60,000 as Grant and BANGON for P90,000 as Loan. After few years of operation, SOGUFA was able to generate income. income. Additional cages cages were installed until until these reached to about 10-12 units.
b. b. As par partt of str streng ength theni ening ng the the organ organiz izat atio ion, n, poli polici cies es wer weree form formul ulat ated ed and and memb member erss were were encouraged to follow the schedule of assigned activities and duties. c. The The inc incom ome e sha shari ring ng sche scheme me of SOGU SOGUFA FA is that that the the net net inco income me (aft (after er deducting all the operating costs including the depreciation cost of the cages) is divided among the members based on the length of time they provided during project operation. d. Presen Presentt sit situat uation ion of the projec project: t: a) early early Februa February ry 2011, 2011, harves harvestt was done done in 2 cages, b) 2 cages are due for harvest after 2 months, c) 2 cages are due for harvest after 1 month, and d) 4 cages were not operated for lack of supply of fingerlings and the members assigned to them had migrated abroad for “greener pasture.” e. From From 20 2000 00 to 200 2007, 7, Popu Popula lati tion on in Boho Boholl incr increa ease sed d by 8.2% 8.2% whil while e mar marin ine e fis fish h catch decreased by 41.3% 41.3% or from 26,500 m.t. to 15,500 15,500 m.t.(see Graph below). below). Due to the decreasing supply of fish while the population is increasing, fish price increased dramatically. dramatically. In fact, the ex-farm price of bangus bangus has increased increased from P80/kg in 2006 to P95/kg in 2011 as against the market price of P100 to P130/kg, respectively. f. Boho Boholl is list listed ed as as one one of more more tha than n 10 10 pro provi vinc nces es with with the the hig highe hest st pove povert rty y incidence. Due to this, this, there is significant significant level of out-migration. out-migration. The disadvantage disadvantage of out-migration, particularly coming from fishing communities, by people who have
been trained and engaged in coastal resource management is that there is a gradual decrease in the number of people who protect coastal and fisheries resources. resources. This situation may may reduce the level of intervention in protecting protecting Bohol marine water biodiversity. biodiversity. It must be noted that Bohol marine marine water has the highest biodiversity. g. The The fact factor or tha thatt ensu ensure red d the the cont contin inui uity ty and and exp expan ansi sion on of of the the proj projec ectt is the the presence of the SOGUFA chairman who has the right attitude (drive, good instinct, energy, and dedication) in fulfilling the objectives of the organization and project and who possesses the traits of being naturally meticulous and system-oriented which was further further developed during the the time when he worked as an electronic technician and appropriately applied in the operation on the present project. Failure of similar projects in Bohol and elsewhere in the Philippines is usually due to the lack of said attitude attitude and traits. traits. But there is is a need to make the the project as as participatory as possible which can only be done through the assistance and facilitation of a partner NGO. h. Aside As ide from from his his task task as as the the direct direct superv superviso isorr of of the the cage cage cultu culture re projec project, t, the the SOGUFA chairman chairman has joined membership membership as MFARMC Chairman Chairman in the municipality municipality of Dauis and member of the PADAYON-BMT Board or Management Council, among others. III. II.
Analy nalys sis and and Reco ecommend endatio ation ns
1. The suffi sufficie ciency ncy and securi security ty on fish fish as the the basi basic c food food of the Filip Filipino ino people people,, particularly particularly in Bohol can only be ensured not anymore anymore from fishing fishing and traditional brackishwater brackishwater fishponds but from fish culture activities and projects in the lakes, rivers, and the sea. Since food security security is the main responsibility responsibility of the government, the LGUs/LGAs should provide assistance, incentives and encouragement encouragement to those community organizations which are successful in mariculture projects. 2. The cultur culture e of of ban bangus gus in marin marine e fish fish cage cage is is mor more e profi profitab table le than than when when it is cultured in pen. pen. This is the reason reason for the unprecedented unprecedented accelerated increase in the annual volume of production of bangus cultured in cages. But what hinders the possible expansion of bangus floating cage culture projects is the seasonal occurrence occurrence of limited supply of fingerlings whose main source in Bohol is from the BFAR Farm in Calape. This problem should should be anticipated by those those who are going to invest invest in in this this type type of project. There is a need to study study the the existing existing and future future demand for bangus fry and fingerlings in Bohol as well as the existing supply of same as far as BFAR Calape Farm is concerned so that whatever is the gap can be properly acted upon by BFAR and other concerned government agencies agencies and entities. 3. SOGU SOGUFA FA is is plan planni ning ng for for pro proje ject ct are area a expa expans nsio ion n but but it has has lim limit ited ed cap capit ital al.. Through its Chairman, it is trying to tap the FPE for possible source of loan-fund for the said plan. On the other hand, it may undertake undertake joint venture with the LGU LGU and any conduit bank of the government government like the LBP and DBP. Aside from said partnership, partnership, the public and private private partnership program program of the Aquino administration administration should cover this type of project. project. In this way, way, areas where where this type
of project had been evaluated as technically feasible and financially viable but where said projects had been established but failed due to lack of technical personnel who have the right attitude and technical traits can be made productive and profitable and generate economic pre- and post-harvest activities therein.
