The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) last week inaugurated Zamboanga Peninsula’s first first-ever government-operated multi-species marine hatchery.
The project located in Jose Dalman, Zamboanga del Norte aims to enhance local aquaculture production by producing fry and fingerlings to benefit local fish farmers.
BFAR said for the first few years, the facility will focus on milkfish fry production, expected to produce 12.5 million milkfish fry annually at 50 percent survival rate.
Isidro Velayo Jr., BFAR officer-in-charge, in a statement, said the hatchery’s production aims to provide the seed requirement for grow-out facilities like ponds and cages in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula, including the more than 200 milkfish cages operating in the different mariculture parks in the region.
This will result in lower fry costs which means lower operating capital, emergence of more grow-out areas, additional revenue for the local government unit and more employment opportunities for the community.
BFAR added with this facility, local fish farmers would no longer need to source their supplies of fry and fingerlings from local wild fry gatherers, private hatcheries from other regions or even from traders selling imported fry from Indonesia.
BFAR said in the next few years, the marine hatchery will also produce 25 million milkfish larvae, 10 million pompano larvae, 2.7 million pompano fry and 1.5 million mangrove crablets annually.
The Jose Dalman Marine Fish Hatchery was designed by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and built in partnership with the local government unit which provided the 3,000 square meters lot for the project.
During the first two years, BFAR’s regional office in Zamboanga Peninsula will manage the hatchery while providing technical skills through training and capacity building to local government personnel in preparation for the turnover of the hatchery to the local government unit of Jose Dalman.
BFAR said of the 57 multi-species hatcheries and other aquaculture facilities to be constructed nationwide under 41 laws passed during the 16th, 17th and 18th Congresses, 26 have already been completed while 21 are now under construction and 10 undergoing preliminary preparations including feasibility studies and procurement procedures. -J. Macapagal
