50 MARCH 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG Floating cages utilized in Mindanao are of two general categories: the traditional cage, which is made of simple materials, such as bamboo for the cage frame (Fig. 6), and sophisticated cages that use high density polyethylene (HDPE) or steel pipe for frames (Fig. 7). Traditional cages are mostly rectangular or square and of various sizes, and their use is more widespread in lakes for tilapia culture (Sarmiento 2013). They are also being used in marine waters for milkfish production. The HDPE cages are circular and are used principally in the mariculture of milkfish. Net pens are also used in Mindanao in the culture of milkfish and tilapia in lakes, some shallow seas and rivers. Recently net pens have been used by some milkfish growers to culture Pacific white shrimp. In Malita, Davao del Sur, a pen of 40 m by 60 m is stocked with 60,000-75,000 white shrimp post-larvae. After 3-4 months of feeding a combination of cooked cracked corn and commercial feed, shrimp are harvested with an average body weight of 15-17 g. Despite the low survival rate (39-50 percent), better income is obtained from shrimp farming than from milkfish culture. This has stimulated about 200 fish farmers to engage in pen culture of shrimp. At present, there are about 7,000 pens used for shrimp production and each unit is producing at least 300 kg of market-size shrimp. Hatcheries The favorable geographic location of Mindanao is one of the major reasons for the success of aquaculture on this island. A stable supply of fry or fingerlings and the availability of goodquality aquafeeds and other inputs are major factors in the success of the industry. Mindanao has hatcheries that supply larvae and fingerlings needed by fish farmers. Sarangani Province and General Santos City have three of the leading hatcheries in the Philippines: Finfish Hatcheries, Inc. (FHI), Charoen Pokhapand (CP), and Dobe International. These are larger than other hatcheries, which are public and privately owned and operating under small- to mediumscale production, scattered throughout Mindanao. Finfish Hatchery, Inc. in Sarangani Province, southern Mindanao is the first and largest commercial finfish larvae hatchery in the Philippines (Fig. 8). It supplies more than 50 percent of the requirement for milkfish larvae in Mindanao and the whole country. The FHI hatchery is also the only supplier of pompano Trachinotus blochii, Asian seabass Lates calcarifer, mangrove jack Lutjanus argentimaculatus, green grouper Epinephelus marginatus and king grouper Epinephelus lanceolatus on a commercial scale. FIGURE 8. Finfish Hatcheries, Inc. (FHI) at Malapatan, Sarangani Province is the largest and the only commercial hatchery of milkfish Chanos chanos in Mindanao. FIGURE 7. HDPE sea cages at Southern Triangle Management Group Inc. (STMGI) at Lower Buayan, General Santos City.This farm has 40 cages installed 500 m from the land facility of the farm (ponds and feed storage). FIGURE 9. Charoen Pokphand (CP) is the first shrimp hatchery in General Santos City and in Mindanao that has the equipment (PCR) for the analysis of white spot syndrome virus. Mr. P. Kungvankij, vice-chairman of Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippines Co. holds discussions with Dr. Dabrowski during a visit in 2013 to their hatchery operation. The facility is capable of producing 50 million shrimp postlarvae per month. FIGURE 10. Students of Mindanao State University-College of Fisheries during a procurement of shrimp fry from Dobe International Nursery facility at Malapatan, Sarangani Province.
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