FARMING TIPS  

Over the years, there has been a big steady demand for milkfish or bangus in the country. It has also been doing well in the international market with Philippine export of frozen or chilled bangus reaching over 526 metric tons or some P8.5 million annually.

The following gives a good overview of how to manage your own fishponds using a site already developed.

Site selection

Select existing brackishwater fish farms that are fully developed and operational. Former prawn farms can be used for milkfish farming. The site should have:

Pond layout and design

1. Improve or modify existing structures to suit the management requirements of the proposed production scheme.
2. Concentrate on the repair and strengthening of dikes, cut-and-fill levelling of pond bottom, and construction of diagonal canal, drain canal and drain culvert gate to improve pond structures.
3. Modify pond structures to improve water management and stock manipulation systems as well as to meet desired management schedules and production targets. The pond can be of any size (the bigger, the better) for optimum production using the modular method.
4. Divide pond into four compartments: nursery pond (NP); transition pond (TP); formation pond (FP); and rearing pond (RP).
5. Provide a separate culvert-type drain gate and canal system opposite the inlet gate and canal system for rearing ponds to effect efficient water exchange and circulation.
6. Construct an inside-pond diagonal canal to facilitate draining and harvesting of stock.

Pond preparation and food requirements

1. Carry out thorough pond preparation such as crack drying, liming and tilling once a year.
2. Prepare the ponds grown with lab-lab before fish stocking.
3. Apply organic and inorganic fertilizer to stimulate growth of natural food organisms.
4. Extend pond preparation and food growing in grow-out ponds to 45 days to allow more time for the abundant growth of lab-lab.

Production strategy

1. Purchase the required fry once every year of operation, especially during the peak season in May.
2. Start production in the nursery pond, then the transition pond, formation pond, and finally the rearing pond.
3. Divide the grow-out process into two phases: formation and rearing phases.
4. Allow the fingerlings to from a 20 g fingerling size to a 50 g post-fingerling size in the formation pond using natural food organisms as primary food for the stock.
5. Transfer the post-fingerlings to the rearing pond. Milkfish will grow to the marketable size of 250 g in three months at an average growth rate of 2.2 g/day. Expect the milkfish to grow bigger during the dry season at an average growth rate of 3 g/day.
6. Provide supplementary feeds to sustain fish growth particularly during the wet season when lab-lab and other natural foods in the pond are depleted. A weekly feed conditioning is necessary to determine the attractability of the feed.
7. Efficient feeds should be used. Unattractive feeds result in poor health of the milkfish.
8. Eradicate snail pests called suso and bangungon. These pests destroy lab-lab mat and compete with bangus for lab-lab. Use alternative molluscicide, like tobacco dust, applied at 300-400 kg/ha or collect the snails by sweeping or handpicking and burn them with rice straw.

Pond water management

1. Increase water depth from 0.6 m to 1 m particularly during the last two months of culture operation. Note: An abrubt increase in water depth will cause lab-lab to detach and float. Install fine-meshed screens (bastidor or lumpot) at the gates to prevent the re-entry of wild species or the possible escape of stock.
2. Monitor water quality parameters (turbidity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature regularly to check for any sign of risk. Maintain the optimum water condition to support maximum growth of milkfish.
3. Change water at least every two weeks or as frequent as possible.
4. Install a stand-by water pump to maintain desired water depth when water management through tidal fluctuation is not possible.

Do's and Dont's in setting up and managing a fish pond.

Harvesting

Harvesting milkfish that have attained the marketable size can be done either through the current method locally called as pasubang or the total draining method. Total draining is the common method for harvesting milkfish. However, this lowers the quality of the fish because mud sticks to the fish.

To maintain fish quality, the pasubang method can be used. This takes advantage of the tendency of the fish to swim against the current. The method is carried out by draining water in the pond particularly during low tide to induce fish to swim through the gate.

Close the gate when all the fish have been impounded. Total harvest is done manually by collecting or picking the remaining fish from the pond bottom.

Packing for transport

Part of the business is transporting the goods to the market. To ensure that fish will remain fresh until they reach their destination, they must be packed with sufficient quantity of ice and loaded with care.

Methods of packing fresh fish for transport

1. Wash the fish with pond water prior to icing and sort according to size.
2. Pre-chill or immerse the fish in a chilling tank, box or banyera with ice water immediately after harvest.
3. Dip the fish in ice water before packing to keep them from losing scales due to subsequent handling.
4. Spread a layer of crushed ice 15 cm thick at the bottom of the transport box. Make sure the ice is compact to minimize thawing and to cushion the fish.
5. Lay about 100 kg of the fish on top of the crushed ice. Arrange the fish heads pointing to the one direction only.
6. Spread another layer of crushed ice 5 cm thick on top of the fish.
7. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the last layer of fish is 15 cm below the top of the box.
8. Place the last layer of crushed ice 15 cm thick on top of the last layer of fish. The bottom and the top layers of ice should always be 15 cm thick.

Note: If the fish will be transported by land, a 1:2 ratio of ice to fish (weight basis) is needed for 1 1/2 hours of travel, and a 1:1 ratio for 3 hours of travel. However, if transporting by boat or ship, do not remove fish from the styrofoam boxes. The fish can stay fresh in a styrofoam box for 12 hours.

Advantages of pre-chilling

Pre-chilling the fish will prevent excessive damage and will keep the fish looking fresh. It also removes blood, slime, dirt and bacteria from the skin of the fish, and slows down enzymatic activities, thus minimizing further deterioration.

Ecological considerations

If not properly planned or managed, fishponds may adversely affect the environment, e.g. by causing water pollution. To mitigate such problems, adopt appropriate safeguards to protect the environment. Likewise, avoid pond development in environmentally critical areas such as mangrove areas, marine parks, and reserves, and sanctuaries. If possible, use teaseed cake/powder instead of strong chemicals in controlling pests and predators in fishponds. If chemical pesticide is used, count five to seven days before flushing pond water into the river to avoid polluting the river and poisoning other aquatic organisms. Futhermore, avoid overfeeding the fish with commercial feeds. Decaying uneaten feeds can pollute water and pond environment.

Plant mangroves or other trees on the dikes to strengthen them and to avoid erosion. Dikes can also be planted to cash crops, e.g. string beans, kamote, okra, and peppers.

Support services

Technical assistance can be requested from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-DA) and the Coastal Environment Program of the Department of Enviroment and Natural Resources (CEP-DENR).

1. Wash the fish.
2. Split the fish, butterfly style.
3. Remove the internal organs, gills, blood and slime. Then wash the fish thoroughly.
4. Remove the backbone and dorsal fins by means of a sharp knife.
5. With the use of forceps, remove the spines at the belly cavity. This can done easily because the spiner are superficially embedded.
6. Debone.

Make a superficial slit along the dent of the dorsal and ventral muscles with the edge of a knife. Removes spines one after the other by inserting the pair of forceps between the segments of the dorsal and ventral muscles.

Continue removing the spines in similar manner on the dorsal and ventral areas until all spines are eliminated.

From the dorsal portion, there are approximately 44 branching spines embedded between the muscles segments. Starting from the nape along the lateral line 22 spines are embedded and along the ventral muscles are 24 spines.

1. Remove the gills and open the soft belly to remove the internal organs.
2. Wash fish thoroughly to remove blood, slime, dirt, etc.
3. After washing, soak fish in concentrated brine for 120 minutes. To prepare concentrated brine, mix thoroughly 1 part salt and 3 parts water.
4. Drain brined bangus for a few minutes, wrap in aluminum foil and then process in a retort or pressure cooker at 10 lbs. pressure for an average time of 90 to 120 minutes. Processing time varies according to size and age of bangus.
5. After processing, "dry to the touch" under the sun for 30 to 48 minutes or in any suitable artificial dryer.
6. Smoke the processed fish in a suitable smokehouse for 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown.

1 1/2 kilo bangus

2 1/2 cups water

10 tbsp vinegar

1 1/2 cups cooking oil or corn oil

1/2 bottle tomato catsup

2 medium carrots

10 pcs kamias

2 tbsp salt

4 tbsp sugar

1 large can tomato chili sauce

Procedure

Mix all ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes or until soft.

1 fresh fat bangus, about 1 lb.

1 small ampalaya (quartered)

1 small eggplant (quartered)

3 pcs hot green pepper

Salt or patis to taste

1 cup vinegar

3/4 cup water

1 pc inch-long ginger pounded

Procedure

Clean bangus without removing the scales. Cut into 2 or 3 pieces. Salt pieces and set aside. Prepare vegetables. Arrange fish and whole pepper over the vegetables. Add vinegar. Bring to a boil without stirring. Add water and continue simmering until fish is cooked. Add patis to taste.

Ingredients

1 bangus (broiled whole)

1/2 cup sliced onion

2 small eggplant, halved

1 small ampalaya, quartered

1/2 cup 2-inch slices sitao

1/2 cup malunggay or sitao tops

1/2 sliced tomatoes

1 cup rice washing

Bagoong to taste

Procedure

Place eggplant, ampalaya, sitao, onion, tomatoes with rice washing and bagoong in claypot or saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add fish and malunggay or sitao tops. Cover to simmer until vegetables are just crisp-tender.