Improved growing methods expected to raise catfish, mudfish output

IMPROVED METHODS of managing catfish (hito) and mudfish (dalag) nurseries are expected to improve production of the two types of fish, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement.

The DA said the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) are using induced spawning techniques and nursery rearing protocols for the fingerlings that will be distributed to aquaculturists and fishpond operators.

It added that the fingerling initiative aims to help the fisheries sector overcome ineffective practices currently in place.

“The decreasing catch of fingerlings from the wild and lack of technologies in the propagation of fish are also considered bottlenecks in ensuring sustainable production of freshwater species like mudfish and catfish,” the DA said.

The NFRDI and BFAR have implemented a two-year project that started in October to optimize induced spawning techniques and nursery protocols.

“A total of 300,000 mudfish fingerlings will be produced and will be distributed to fish farmers in Central Luzon and in Tanay, Rizal through the BFAR,” the DA said.

The DA said it is currently running a one-year project which started in January involving six village-level hatcheries and nurseries in La Union and Pangasinan, which will transition to the improved methods.

“The project aims to produce 1.2 million catfish fingerlings and attain a 10% growth in production and more importantly achieve a three-fold increase in profit,” the DA said.

According to Philippine Statistics Authority data, fisheries output in 2020 fell 0.3% year on year to 4.403 million metric tons (MT).

Aquaculture production accounted for 52.8% or 2.32 million MT, followed by municipal fisheries with 25% or 1.10 million MT and commercial fisheries 22.2% or 978,170 MT. —