EDITORIAL
S
A closer look at the Philippine shrimp industry today
hrimps whether black tiger or Pacific white is still a favorite in the Philippine aquaculture industry despite numerous setbacks. Shrimp farming cannot be erased from the minds of Filipino aquaculture practitioners. This is evident in the high attendance in past shrimp congresses. Despite the continued high interest on shrimps and despite the introduction of the Pacific white shrimp in our waters, the shrimp industry in the Philippines still has to recover from the collapse during the mid 1990s when total annual shrimp production was just a few thousand tons short of 100,000 tons. According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics annual production during the last ten years or so remains at around 40,000 mt. Unlike in all other shrimp producing countries in Asia where the Penaeus vannamei was introduced Philippine shrimp production remains flat. In China shrimp production soared to over a million metric tons after P. vannamei was introduced. In Thailand as well as in Indonesia, P. vannamei staved off an almost certain collapse of the P. monodon -based industries. The Philippines is unique in defying such trend. As a consequence many former shrimp farms are still culturing only milkfish.
that are even known internationally and manned by people with doctoral and masteral degrees from foreign and local universities. The Philippines also continues to be a source of aquaculture technicians for fish and shrimp farms abroad particularly in the Middle East. And look at the success of shrimp growers in Calatagan and Zambales. Can it be financing? Lack of bank financing hardly deters the Filipino entrepreneur. Just look at the rise of fish cage ventures for milkfish culture in Misamis Oriental and in Davao. If they smell profit they will reach into their pockets or find a way to finance their ventures. So what can be wrong? Why is P. vannamei PL prices still the highest in Asia? Why are there so few licensed hatcheries? Why are so few pond operators getting accredited or registered as P. vannamei grower? There seems to be a real need for the government and private sector to develop a framework that will promote shrimp culture regardless of species. Aquaculture nowadays including shrimp culture is fast becoming more market driven. This means that market is becoming a major consideration in production. The issue of market forms
We all know that there are regional preferences for either P. monodon or P. vannamei production in the country. Calatagan in Batangas and Zambales province are definitely for P. vannamei production and Bohol and Negros Occ for P. monodon. In all other places the brackishwater fishpond industry remains rooted to milkfish. This means that shrimp farming is not evenly distributed in all the regions. Why is this so despite the high national interest on shrimp farming regardless of species? There seems something amiss. Can it be for lack of technology? This does not seem to be possible considering the presence of aquaculture research centers
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Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
whether live, chilled or frozen must be taken into consideration by interested farmers as influenced by their proximity to the target market. There are fears that if production of shrimp including P. vannamei will grow too fast in the country, prices might fall. We must consider in this case the elasticity of supply and demand. This means given slightly lower prices, the shrimp market will become wider to include the consumers whose pockets are not as deep. For the growers the smaller profit margin can be more than made up by the volume of sales. This means more Filipinos being able to buy and consume shrimps on a daily basis and not just for special events like birthdays so that the P. vannamei can become a Hipon ni Juan. Santeh Feeds Corporation in its own little way is contributing to sustainable aquaculture development by continuously providing Filipino fish farmers’ quality aqua feed products that has less negative impact on the environment. Santeh believes that high-quality shrimp feeds could be one of the factors in improving shrimp aquaculture efficiency in the case of Filipino fish farmers. These products can bring down cost of production in farms through better FCR, increase in yield, better nutrient absorption and digestibility, thus reduced effluents. Daniel V. Cabrera N
NEWSFEED
A Technical Publication of Santeh Feeds Corporation For inquiries, comments, and suggestions, please write to: NEWSFEED c/o Santeh Feeds Corporation Rm.601, 6F, West Trade Center 132 West Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines 1104 Telephone:+632.375.1563 | Fax:+632.374.8031 | Mobile: 0917-7915478 Email: inquiry@tateh.com
Daniel Cabrera Lito Carrido Maricel Falguisana Mark Bryan Dy Faith Escote Francis Karl Calica Agner Anthony Ocleaza Lovela Tinambunan Rayzon John Espinosa Contributors
Phillip Ong HC Yean Ma. Patricia I. Rico Editorial Advisers Fred Yap Editorial Consultant Dennis Rito Layout & Design
TATEH Aquafeed Mill now HALAL Certified Polomolok, South Cotabato. The Tateh Premium Feeds Corporation plant in Polomolok, Cotabato area has recently received another milestone certification in the global market place— HALAL. Halal, is an Arabic word that means lawful or legal according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law. In the case of Aqua Feed products, this certification means that Tateh Aqua Feeds can be marketed as compliant to halal standards in Muslim countries for aquatic species cultured as food. The Halal food market is one of the biggest in the world and is spread over 112 countries with a population base estimated at 400 million Muslims and valued at an estimated cost of trillions of US dollars. Beyond its religious significance Halal is fast becoming a global symbol for food safety and quality. In the case of Aqua feed millling, Tateh Aqua Feedmill based in Polomolok is the first among aqua feed mills in the Philippines. Halal is the fourth certification of Santeh Feeds Corporation after ISO 9001 for quality, OHSAS 18001 for safety and ISO 14001 for environmental compliance. According to Ms. Faith Escote, Tateh Premium manager and at the same time HALAL certification in-charge; the said Halal certification is expected to boost sales and market development of Tateh Aqua Feeds products in Muslim regions in SE Asia and the rest of the world. With reports from Faith Escote and Francis Carl Calica
Premium Extruded Sinking Feeds now available For deep-water bangus and tilapia culture
Santeh Feeds Corporation has recently launched a new product in the aquaculture feeds market that is environment-friendly. Premium ExtruSink is an extrusion-based feed product that has the most rigid raw material selection process that results in the highest digestibility and lowest FCR for Bangus and Tilapia culture in deep water. The launching of Premium ExtruSink is an affirmation of Santeh’s commitment for the next challenge in aquaculture— Green Aquaculture. Tateh, the green brand wants to take the initiative into this endeavor by producing environment friendly extruded products that are of the highest quality and digestibility. Premium Extrusink is available in crumble, starter, grower and finisher and are packed in 20 and 25 kilos respectively. Santeh believes that sustained profitability for both the feed company and the fish farmers lies in making the aquatic and marine environment clean so that they can continue to be used for aquaculture by future generations. Daniel V. Cabrera Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
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NEWS
Fisheries School on-the-Air on Saline Tilapia & Freshwater Shrimp Held A total of 150 listener-participants graduated from the Fisheries School on the Air (FSA) on Tilapia and Ulang in ceremonies conducted at the Asian Fisheries Academy, Bonuan-Binloc, Dagupan City on February 5, 2010. Mr. Angelo Palmones, AGHAM Partylist President and anchorperson of ‘Bago ‘Yan AH’, served as Guest Speaker. He talked on the need to strengthen the promotion of Science and Technology and the commercialization of technology. He was emphatic on the need to increase the budget for S&T and the creation of a separate Department of Fisheries. 150 listener-graduates attended the activity. The listener-participants came from 14 provinces namely: Antique, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Nueva Ecija,
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Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Romblon, Tarlac and Zambales. Among the 266 enrolled listenerparticipants, the organizers headed by Dr. Dalisay Fernandez of Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD), selected outstanding graduates based on the following criteria: examination results, presence of existing culture facility, and willingness to adopt the technology. The outstanding listener graduates for FSA Saline Tilapia were Casilda Tolentino from Malolos, Bulacan (1 st place); Nestor Garcia from Subic Zambales (2 nd place) and Jennaire Galipot from San Jose del Monte (3 rd place). While outstanding listener-participants for FSA Ulang were: Ruben Reyes
Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
from Cuenca Batangas (1st place), Rolando Villacorta from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija (2 nd place) and Bernardino Bernal from Malolos, Bulacan (3 rd place). Each one received cash award, saline tilapia fingerlings or ulang PLs and P5000 worth of Tateh Aqua feeds. Several canned FSA program are available for re-airing. For LGUs interested in re-airing the program in their respective areas can contact Dr. Dalisay Fernandez through e m a i l ddgfernandez_2001@yahoo.com. For more information on Fisheries School on-the-air program, visit: h t t p : / / pangisdaansahimpapawid.blogspot.com/
FEATURE
Rolly Alejandro of Calatagan:
A Success Story in P. vannamei Farming easy to culture. Buyers regularly pickup his harvest in Calatagan for marketing in Malabon. He is able to stock and harvest twice a year. Fu t u r e Prospects He is interested in farming high-value species in his farm in the future, but does not know yet what fish species to culture. “I have regular buyers of my vannamei shrimps here in Calatagan, and I think if I farm highvalue fish they will still get it from me. High-value fish is likewise very expensive and my friend told me that high-value fish culture is low in maintenance compared to vannamei farming,” Kuya Rolly further stated.
Mr. Rolly Alejandro in his farm. 50 years in Aquaculture If all brackishwater fishpond operators in the Philippines were like Rolly Alejandro the country would still have been one of the world’s leading shrimp producers Rolly’s family has been in the aquaculture business for the last 50 years. It was his parents who started the business by first going into bangus growing using a brackishwater fishpond located in barangay Balitok in Calatagan, Batangas. While the total farm size is 11 hectares only 3.5 ha are fully developed. In Kuya Rolly’s own words: “Bangus is the first species we ventured in. Next was sugpo. Now its P. vannamei. We already experienced growing three species and we find vannamei farming simpler and more profitable compared to bangus and sugpo. Yung bangus kasi madali din sana alagaan pero mababa ang presyo, yung monodon naman maganda sana ang presyo kaso mabilis tamaan ng sakit kaya masyado mababa ang survival.” In 2002, he raised P. vannamei in
polyculture with milkfish. But as of now, he has separate ponds for bangus and P. vannamei to maximize the potentials of both species Fa r m T echnical Specs Te Kuya Rolly prepares his ponds the usual way: sun-drying, pond bottom scraping and plowing, liming, initial water of 30 cm followed by teaseed application at 15 ppm before allowing the water to reach one meter depth. Only then are his ponds ready for stocking. He stocks the P. vannamei PLs at 100 pcs/sq.m. His PL source is the Jamandre hatchery in Iloilo. It has a landed price of 25-27 cents at PL8 and 9 with about 0.5 to-1.0 million PL per delivery. His feeding management depends upon the size of his shrimps. He says there is no secret to his success. He only says that it is “enough for me to use the P. vannamei protocol of Tateh Feeds, as simple as that. I have no other secrets to tell.” He grows his shrimps for 4 months and attains an FCR of 1.35 with final ABW of 18-20g with 90% survival. He finds P. vannamei very
Business principles Kuya Rolly believes in “putting God first in your business” and full time hands on management are keys to his being successful. “Mahalaga sa akin ang resources na inilalagay ko sa fishpond kaya binabantayan ko ang farm ko na maayos total sa amin din naman ang balik nun pag naging successful,”he reiterated. Likewise he attributes his farming success not only to business principles but also to his right timing in stocking, good fry, continuously being alert and open to new methods and application of experience based from previous croppings. In terms of Tateh Aqua Feeds after sales this is what Kuya Rolly has to say: “they provide good service in the farm and their approach is very simple and not extravagant. But even though their approaches and recommendations are relatively simple, I find them very helpful and at the same time workable in my particular situation. Tateh representatives are very friendly and professional in the field. Para lang kaming magbabarkada pag nagkukwentuhan sa farm,” he added. With reports from Maricel Falguisana and Lito Carrido
Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Santeh Celebrates its 20th Anniversary It was a joyous evening on the 11th of March, 2009 at the Manila Polo Club when Santeh Feeds Corporation celebrated the company’s 20 th Anniversary. It was also an evening for Santeh to express its appreciation and gratitude to its clients, suppliers, work staff, and to its partners in development including those in the academe and government. Gracing the occasion was immediate past Secretary of Agriculture Arthur Yap who gave the keynote address. Led by BFAR National Director Malcolm Sarmiento, the top people in Philippine fisheries including Region 4A Director Rosa Macas were also there, as were Santeh clients and suppliers, to join Santeh officers and staff in the celebration. At the plated dinner grilled whole pompano, grown using Tateh pompano feeds (what else!) was served. At the program following the dinner, Ms. Patricio Rico, VP for Sales made the opening remarks during which he acknowledged the presence of the top clients of Santeh Feeds and those of sister companies Fishta, PetOne and FeedPro and thanked all of them for their continued support. This was immediately followed by the Keynote Address by former Secretary of Agriculture Arthur Yap during which he congratulated the company for its success and Mr. Phillip Ong , Santeh Feeds President for propelling Santeh to i t s
present position as an industry leader in aquafeeds. He a l s o acknowledged the important and significant contribution of fisheries to the Philippine Gross Domestic Product and made his commitment to advocate for the development of Philippine fisheries in whatever position he maybe in. (See transcript of Sec. Arthur Yap’s speech on the opposite page). A surprise performance by six to 12 year old students of the Learning Tree delighted the guests with their group mime act depicting the environment. So well applauded was the number that the audience asked for an encore – to which the group obliged to the added enjoyment of the audience. After the artistic performance, awards of appreciation and recognition were then given by groups. Handing out the awards for Santeh were Mr. Phillip Ong, Mr. H.C.Yuen and Mr. Conrad Que. The first group consisted of the institutions that collaborated with Santeh in making the Fisheries School on the Air a reality. These are PCMARD , ABS-CBN Foundation, Philippine Foundation for Rural Broadcasters Inc, DZMM, BFAR, NFRDI, SEAFDEC AQD, and the Asian Fisheries Academy. Santeh employees that have served the company for more than 15 years were given loyalty awards : 23 years — Monina Campos; 21 years —
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Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
Patricia Rico, Elmer Sazon, Gundelina S. Chua and Jorge Ong; 20 years— Dalmacio T. Alas, Elizabeth O. Grospe, James A. Chua and Mario C.Dugos.; 19 years –Gloria C. Palisoc; 17 Years – John C. Nealega and Faith M. Escote; 16 Years – Glenn N. Torres, Angelo U. Viceral, Joseltio M. Gaitan and Jocelyn I. Avendaño. Special awards were then given to BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento and the BFAR regional Directors from Region 1 (Mr. Nestor Domenden), Region 3 (Ms. Remedios Ongtangco) , Region 4A (Ms. Rosa F. Macas) and Region 5 (Mr. Dennis V. del Socorro) who were always there when Santeh needed assistance. The Gawad Kalinga Global represented by no less than its founder Tony Meloto as well as GK Bulacan were given due recognition for having been Santeh’s partners in carrying out its corporate social responsibility. The universities who are collaborating with Santeh in its scholarship program for poor but deserving students were likewise given rcognition. This included. Central Luzon State Universtiy, Mindanao State UniversityGen. Santos, MSU-Naawan and the
University of the Philippines Visayas.
Jr.and to Mr. Wilfredo G. Yap
Santeh also expressed its appreciation to Mr. Tony Roces and Ms. Dulce Gozon of FRLD and Col. Alejandro Escaño of PCAFI for their assistance to the company during the 2009 Agrilink/Aqualink Exposition. Not forgotten was the coopeation of several groups in making the Special Setting during the 2009 Agrilink/Aqualink a big success. These are A. Bernales Pet Supply, Philippine Taiyo Aquafarming Corp, Palawan Aquaculture, Frabelle Fishing, Advanced Hobbyist Genetic Breeding Station Inc., St. Joseph Group Inc. and Alsons Aquaculture Corporation
The highlight in the award giving was the awarding by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources represented by no less than Director Malcolm I Sarmiento, of the Gawad Kagalingan sa Pangisdaan to Santeh’s very own Mr. Yean Hui Chien for his contribution to Philippine aquaculture in terms of developing highly nutritious and cost effective feeds for milkfish, tilapia, shrimps and other aquaculture species. The Central Luzon State University represented by its president , Dr. Ruben Sevilleja also awarded Santeh with a plaque of appreciation for sponsoring several scholars in Fisheries.
.Finally plaques of appreciation were also given for assisting SAnteh in its R & D activities. These went to the American Soybean Associaiton represented by Mr. Teodoro M. Cortes
Mr. Phillip Ong, Santeh President gave the closing remarks during which he reiterated the company’s gratitude for all those who in one or way or another helped make Santeh what it is now and
looked forward to continued collaboration “Sama-sama sa Santeh!” This was followed by Col. Alejandro Escaño offering a toast to Santeh’s achievement and the company’s future. To cap the night’s celebration, noted singer Karylle entertained the crowd with two songs. And as a evening affair’s finale she was joined by the full force of Santeh senior staff in singing the Santeh company hymn. So the night ended with their combined voices singing — “We set our goals to sustain, innovate and lead……. Walk tall Santeh, stand proud of what you’ve achieved. For the company, our community, our industry Walk tall, Santeh!”
Santeh’s success is the success of Philippine fisheries Transcription of the Extemporaneous Speech of the Honorable Arthur Yap, Immediate past Secretary of Agriculture, on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Santeh Feeds Corporation, held at the Manila Polo Club, Makati City, March 11, 2010 Ladies and Gentlemen, friends of Santeh good evening to all of you. It is my pleasure and an honor to join you tonight and I greet the officers, the board members, the business partners of Santeh congratulations on your emerald anniversary. (At this point the Secretary requested the audience to give a standing ovation to Mr. Phillip Ong, Santeh Feeds Corp president, for propelling the company to its present status as an industry leader in aquaculture feed development) I served as Agriculture Secretary for more than 4 years, I started my term in 2004. In the time that I have been serving as Agriculture Secretary, year after year, if you study the statistics of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, it is always the fishery industry that has led the way. We have 7,106 islands- with 35,000 kilometers of coastline– longer than that of the United States, it is actually the second longest
coastline in the world. For the future food security of this country, there is really nowhere else to go but go back to the sea. And that is the reason why, as an advocacy, I have always advocated for the protection of the environment and the strengthening of the fisheries industry. And I am very happy that during my watch, President Arroyo was a very receptive President towards the fisheries sub-sector. When she started her term as President, we were barely catching 3 nillion metric tons of fishery products. But because of strong laws and implementation on coastal fisheries management and environmental protection, we saw the possibility of sustainable fisheries take place in the country. In 2001 we had just a few mariculture parks. Today, we have 49. When she started, we were harvesting 3 million metric tons of fishery products. Today we are harvesting in excess
of 5 million metric tons of fishery products. In terms of value, the value of fisheries as I said is more than 26% of 1.3 Trillion pesos worth of GVA – Gross Value Added for Agriculture. And this is the reason why as Secretary I have given a lot of attention to fisheries and I do not regret that I was very much involved in the establishment of the coral triangle initiative to protect Philippine waters and to be as supportive as I could be to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and I would like to congratulate the BFAR. (At this point he acknowledged the presence of BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento, calling him a man of dedication and integrity and requested the audience to give their acknowledgement as well) I have also gone down on record as calling for the creation of a separate Department of Fisheries. And I said that as a sitting
Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
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FEATURE The Hidden Treasure of San Juanico Bridge
Tacloban Aqua farm reveals its white shrimp secrets Farm Background Up to 2005 Tacloban Aqua Farm in Tacloban City was culturing sugpo. However, the farm failed because of diseases. The farm later shifted to bangus. At that time Penaeus vannamei culture was still prohibited in the country. Once PLs of the species became available sometime in 2006 started growing it. Since then, P. vannamei becomes the farm’s primary species of choice. The farm is now on its 4th year of P. vannamei culture. The farm’s owner Mr, Huang Chi Chen acknowledges the help of Tateh Aqua Feeds and the technical support of Mr. Elmer Sazon, Tateh Visayas area manager and Agner Ocleaza, Technical Sales Representative for Leyte.
Santeh’s success.... Secretary of Agriculture, it is actually funny that we are a fisheries aquatic country and we do not have a separate line agency for fisheries and yet its value is so big, its impact to the country so great. I just like to say that in the coming years fisheries will be under a lot of severe stress and a lot of pressure and a lot of attack. This is for agriculture in general - climate change is not something that we talk about anymore, climate change is something that we live through, climate change is something that we have to survive through. In fact last year we were supposed to break more than 17MT in palay production, we had the water, we had the seeds in place but what happened? We had Ondoy and Pepeng, we lost a million MT, 500,000 HA were inundated. And so this is not something that we can just brush aside. Climate change is going to be critical, it will put severe pressure and stress on food security and it would put severe pressure and stress on rural incomes. That’s the reason why Philippine fisheries has to move towards high value- Philippine fisheries has to move towards value adding. Philippine agriculture in general has to move to greater high value and processing to protect it and weather proof it. Finally, there is also an issue that in the coming years we
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are facing — a very, very open trading order. And so you got AFTA, you got free trade agreements with countries, we see WTO is going to open up in the coming years. So if Philippine agriculture does not continue the present track of modernizing its infrastructure it will be very difficult to be competitive. There are a lot of spots of opportunities because – I was with the National Hog Federations at lunch and I was telling them – because of free trade, the price of feeds and the price of corn will all drop, when they drop, that is a great opportunity for you to rise but you have to be competitive. But as that happen, as that meets the sunrise of one industry you are looking also a threat to another industry – our corn industry. And that is why postharvest, correct seeds, expansion and efficiency is also going to be critical. How is the weather? How about climate change? How is a free trade order going to affect the fisheries industry? Only you can determine that because you are the business force for the fisheries industry. What I can do is in whatever field of service I would find myself in in the coming years, is to continue my advocacy for the sea and for fisheries. I am a believer. I love our waters. Personally I am a scuba diver and I
Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
take this advocacy to friends, family and business associates alike. You can rest assured that in whatever endeavor I would find myself in in the coming years, you can depend upon me on this advocacy especially on the areas of fisheries and food security. With that our support has been with Santeh and I do believe it would continue to be with companies like Santeh who are producing good quality products for the fisheries industry. And this is critical if our country is to expand on food security and in agriculture and food. It cannot be by government alone. I was a Secretary for 4 ½ years and I tell you Government alone will not be able to do anything. We need the private sector. We need to create an environment for the private sector to expand, to grow. And we hope that Santeh shall continue to grow. And I wish you all the best not only for the next emerald but also more for the diamond years to come under the leadership of people with vision with the support of people like you. Thank you very much for your support Phillip when I was in the Department of Agriculture and I wish you all good luck because your success is not going to be the success just of one company – your success will be the success of Philippine fisheries. Thank you very much, good evening!
market is Malabon Consignacion. “Right now, my focus species is only P. vannamei” Mr. Chin added. He likewise stated that water quality in San Juanico strait is very good compared to other areas in the c o u n t r y. Fo r h i m , s u c c e s s f u l P. vannamei venture lies only in 3 major f a c t o r s — w a t e r q u a l i t y, p o n d preparation and good and efficient feeds. With these, P. vannamei can grow very fast resulting in high biomass. In order to compensate for the higher freight cost and become competitive with Luzon growers he tries to minimize his overhead and farm operations cost.
Pond being dried pror to stocking. Farm technical specs Tacloban Aqua farm has an area of only 8.5 hectares with pond size ranging from 2,300 m 2 to 7,300 m 2. The farm stocks P. vannamei at 90 PLs/m 2 with PLs coming from Dobi Hatchery in Talisay, Cebu. The fry delivered usually ranges from PL6 to PL9 and sometimes even PL-11. But higher mortality is experienced with the older PL. Most of the ponds are intensively operated with full aeration. The culture period is 120 days or four months. ABW at harvest ranges from 15 to 18 grams and survival ranges from 70 to 90%. With four months culture period the farm manages two croppings a year even with extra periods allotted for pond preparation and soil break. The farm uses 100% Tateh Aqua Feeds. The farm have tried using other brands with lower prices but ended up with higher FCR. With Tateh Feeds the FCR is consistently at 1.1 to 1.2 For that reason the farm now uses Tateh feeds exclusively. Pond preparation and feeding management Pond preparation activities include tilling, plowing, flushing, drying, flattening of the pond-bottom, liming and water culture. In terms of feeding, for the period of 1-7 days, feeding is once a day at 6 pm. The number of feeding per day increases as the shrimp grows. For 8-20 days, 2x day
at 7am and 6pm; for day 21-30, 3x a day at 7am, 2pm & 6pm; for day 3145 4x a day at 7am, 11am, 6pm & 10pm; for day 46 up to harvest 5x a day at 7am, 11am, 2pm, 6pm &10 pm. Reasons for culturing vannamei The owner likes P. vannamei because it is not easily affected by diseases compared to P. monodon. It has a high survival and it is very easy to culture. Its market price is likewise good. Even though its price is not as high as for sugpo, it has so many good sides which farmers learn to appreciate. His
Lessons in farming His business principles are simple, “honesty is the best policy” and “plant now then harvest tomorrow”. He also always keeps the the Law of Supply and Demand in mind when harvesting and marketing his shrimps. He believes that hands-on management is very important in aquaculture. He supervises his people and farm, check the problems and create solutions. For him , Tateh feeds is the best that he has ever used, its quality is superior and it is very efficient in terms of FCR. Its price is well justified as shown in its FCR values. With reports from Agner Anthony Ocleaza
Feeding tray Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
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Siganid, next bright spot for high-value fish culture
Rabbitfish or siganid, locally known as Malaga, samaral or kitong depending upon the locality is sought after fish in the Philippines. It is gaining fast popularity in grow-out culture in any production system like pens, cages and ponds in Northern Luzon especially in the Ilocos region. Farmers utilizing their estuarine river systems can harvest once a year. Their stock starts in September towards the end of the rainy season and ends in June during the start of the rainy season. During this period the rivers are productive for aquaculture use. Species cultured in these rivers are bangus, tilapia, malaga, and sometimes grouper. The North Luzon experience In cages and pens for bangus also in North Luzon as well as in Davao, Malaga is polycultured with Bangus to serve as a “cleaner fish”. Malaga is a good net cage cleaner. It is good in scraping and eating algae that grows on the net surfaces. This makes the net cage always clean allowing a free flow of water and resulting in good appetite for the bangus. At the same time it minimizes the occurrences of parasites and diseases. Other farmers practice Malaga monoculture while other farmers while raising malaga and milkfish in polyculture has Malaga as the primary species because of its higher farm-gate price than bangus. Fry Sourcing
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At present malaga fry are mainly wild-caught making the supply highly seasonal. Growout of Malaga in Luzon is hampered by its total dependence on fry from wild source which are available only from March until April. In an effort to make it possible to culture them year-round in Luzon and in different parts of the country Santeh Feeds is collaborating with Mindanao State University at Naawan (MSU Naawan), and BFAR’s National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) in Bonuan-Binloc, Dagupan City. MSUNaawan has been propagating sigianid in their hatchery for more than ten years. Recently with assistance from the Agriculture Fisheries and Natural Resources (AFRN) project of the Department of Science and Technology, MSU-Naawan has boosted their production capacity with the addition of ten units of 10 ton rearing tanks. Technology implication to other Philippine regions The once a year cropping style of North Luzon aquaculture farmers shows that small to medium scale cage or pen operation is possible in other river systems in the Philippines. This technology can be duplicated in other regions of the Philippines having multiple underutilized river systems as alternative livelihood for the community. It gives additional source of income for the
Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
people and at the same time contributes to local fish supply while boosting family income due to the higher price siganids command compared to tilapia and bangus. Market price and demand Although siganid price cannot match that of grouper, its culture technology is relatively easier than grouper. The siganids do not eat each other being by nature herbivorous. They also easily accept formulated feeds in all its life stages from fry to spawner. From 2 to 5 cm size they can grow to 6-7 pcs per kilogram in 4 to 5 months and can be sold at Php 200-300 per kilo depending on the season and the locality. Bigger sizes of siganid at 3-4 pcs per kilo usually commands higher market price but the major constraint in achieving this size is the low survival. The species tends to become more sensitive to water quality as it approaches sexual maturity. Malaga is highly acceptable in Philippine markets and is limited only by the seasonality of supply. It has greater economic value than bangus. Given the chance of monoculture with assured market, Malaga can become a lucrative source of income for farmers. Tateh Siganid FFeeds eeds Tateh has developed Malaga feeds which can be used for Malaga culture specifically in monoculture set-up. While many farmers have found milkfish feed acceptable also to Malaga the fish tend to consume more feeds if using regular bangus feeds because of its lower protein content. Malaga has higher protein requirement than milkfish. Its intestine are shorter compared to Milkfish. Furthermore its intestinal cell wall is thinner compared to Milkfish That’s why Malaga must not be fed on ad libitum basis especially during the growing stage. Tateh has specially formulated its Malaga feed so that there is no need for farmers to feed them at a higher quantity. This prevents mortality due to intestinal bursting. Although slightly higher in price than bangus feeds Malaga feeds is more cost effective. Using regular bangus or tilapia feeds, the farmer can use 10 kilos of feeds per day while for Malaga feeds only, 6-7 kilos per day is needed.A difference of 3 kilos per day is significant in affecting the profit margin. With reports from Mark Brian Dy
Prospect in Mudcrab Culture using Tateh Crab Feeds Mudcrab or alimango is wellknown in the country as a highvalue aquaculture species because of its highfarm gate price. There are actually four species available in the Phlippines: the king crab, Scylla serrata, the red or orange crab, S. olivacea; the purple crab known as “lawodnon” in Western Visayas, S. tranquebarica and the relatively rare green crab S. paramamosain. The farm gate price could vary based on the species and the size as well whether it is male or female. Generally though the farm gate price ranges from Php 300 to 500. This is because in addition to a very strong local market it has also a very strong export market. The demand is strong enough for it to be considered a seller’s market. Crablet source and Grow-out Area At present crab juveniles or crablets are mainly wild-caught. While occurring almost all over the Philippines a big portion comes from Bicol particularly from the Catanduanes Crab Center in Virac, Catanduanes. Catanduanes is well-known for its king crab species. Grow-out is practiced in the areas of Sorsogon, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Calauag in Quezon, Bataan, Pampanga, Buguey in Cagayan, Roxas City and Pontevedra in Capiz Aklan and in Lala, Lanao del Norte. Thus far hatchery-produced crablets can be obtained only from the hatchery of SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department in Tigbauan, Iloilo. However, their present production of 30,000 to 50,000 crablets per month is still very limited compared to the crablet demand in the country. For some reason there is still no private investment in crab hatcheries. Grow-out and fattening At present, crab is polycultured in open ponds with bangus and shrimps. Usually, brackishwater fishponds used in prawn and bangus culture with good tidal water exchange can be used in mudcrab growout. Farmers are utilizing a combination of trash fish and Tateh mudcrab feeds especially
during fattening stage. Fattened female crabs price is as high as PHP700-800 per kilo! Compared to regular price at PHP300-500 pesos. Underweight mucrabs usually have lower price at PHP100-200 per kilo. Usually in open-pond grow-out, there is always one underweight crabs for every three fattened crabs. The underweight crabs are restocked in the pond for
further fattening. In some areas, such a s Catanduanes, crabs are fattened inside plastic pails perforated to allow free entry of water and stocked with one crab per pail. Although laborious, the individualized cages ensure a 100% rate of fattened crab. Feeds and Feeding Trash fish is widely used in crab culture. However trash fish is highly seasonal and the availability and price can vary widely
during the year or even within the culture period. Furthermore it has been identified as the main cause of pollution inside the pond enviornment. Uneaten trash fish decomposes on the pond bottom resulting in higher ammonia and becomes home to harmful microbes. This results in high mortality and low recovery during harvest. Tateh Mudcrab FFeed eed Now crab farmers already have a convenient eed alternative – the Tateh Mudcrab FFeed eed. The Tateh mudcrab feed line is available from starter, grower, and finisher/fattener all packed in 15 kilo bags. Tateh mudcrab feed is essential in ensuring high survival of crabs and at the same time can ensure fattened mucrab during the fattening stage. Unlike trash fish, Tateh mudcrab feed can be stored without requiring refrigeration making it convenient for farmers. Farmers can have a reliable and steady supply of feeds throughout the culture period. Additionally because it is specially formulated in terms of protein and fat ratio, ovary or orange aligue development of mudcrab is easily achieved. Market Mudcrab is always sold live in both the domestic and export market. The main export market is Hongkong. In Manila and in Pampanga, processors are using mudcrabs as raw materials to produce bottled crab fats. The general rule in the market is: the bigger the crab, the higher the price and the more fats developed, the higher the price. Normally, mudcrab pricing is highest during the Chinese New Year period when the export of mud crab is at its highest. Technology Promotion Tateh Aqua Feeds is promoting mudcrab culture through the Fisheries School On the Air (FSA) in collaboration with PCAMRD, ABS-CBN DZMM and other regional radio stations with resource persons coming from SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department, UPVisayas, and the industry. With reports from Lovela Tinambunan and Rayzon John Espinosa
Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue
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Philippine Shrimp Congress 2010 Issue