20 October 2005
Philippines The Philippines’ milkfish industry is expected to generate higher revenues in the succeeding years following the development of foreign markets for “post fingerling bangus (milkfish)†which is now used by tuna long line fishermen as bait.
Local commercial fishing operators alone, particularly those in Mindanao, purchase at least 10,000 pieces of post fingerlings every week for their regular tuna catch.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 Director George Campeon said Taiwanese commercial fishermen who regularly dock at the region’s commercial fish complex, are the top foreign buyers of the bangus fingerlings.
Campeon said Taiwanese fishermen are using the bangus fingerlings as bait because of their “shiny†silver scales compared to the regular baits such as “moro-moro.†He said the Davao region produces about 300,000 to 500,000 pieces of post bangus fingerlings. It is only in Southern Mindanao where production is high.
Data from BFAR-11 showed that from January to August this year, over 2.1-million pieces of bangus fingerlings had been accessed by local and foreign commercial fishermen.
Campeon said the industry developed when BFAR-11 started venturing into fish cages as well as the growing demands for six inch-sized bangus in Regions 8, 10 and other parts of Luzon.
Also, Campeon said bangus growers in the region began selling the fingerlings since the cost of production is lower than those grown in commercial sizes.
“Our milkfish growers earn much as they don’t have to wait for their fish to grow to commercial sizes. The bigger the size, the higher the production cost,†he said.
