Tilapia now grows in sea water

DAVAO DEL NORTE, October 10 (PIA) - - Normally a freshwater fish, Tilapia is now being grown in sea water at the Panabo Mariculture Park (PMP), Cagangohan, Panabo City.

Since 2002, Pedro Pacatang, one of the PMP fish cage owners, developed a system for Red Tilapia to survive in salt water.

“My passion for Tilapia raising started when I received a Jewel Tilapia from Florida, USA back then,” Pacatang said.

With the assistance of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – Regional Fisheries Training Center (BFAR-RFTC), Pacatang began producing Red Tilapia or internationally known as the King Fish in April 2014.

“In our first trial, of the 10,000 fingerlings we stock, only 1,400 Tilapia survived after 90 days,” he recalled.

He added that on their second stocking with 5,000 fingerlings, 20% died harvesting 4,000 Tilapia in 500-600 grams each in three months.

“This time, on our third trial, we harvested around 9,000 Tilapia from the stocking of 10,000 fingerlings last June 9,” he said.

Pacatang bragged that on its latest trial, the Red Tilapia grew to 700-800 grams each for four months.

To date according to the data of BFAR-RFTC, five fish cages in the mariculture park breed Red Tilapia.

Pacatang explained that normally, Tilapia can only brackish water with salinity of 26-27 ppt; but he developed a strain that could endure salt water up to 39 ppt salinity.

Aside from its fresh produce in the Panabo Mariculture Park, Pacatang also sells Red Tilapia fingerlings in his Aqua Penon Hatchery with cost starting to P 3 depending on the size.

Aqua Penon Hatchery is a six-hectare brackish water hatchery in Carmen, Davao del Norte that produces up to 1-million fingerlings of Red Tilapia, sea bass and cat fish.

Since it is still in trial phase, Pacatang distributed its produce to local restaurants as samples.

“For all our produce in the three trials, we are distributing it for promotion; nevertheless, we are selling it P 150 per kilo for dead Tilapia and P 250 for the live Tilapia,” he said.

On October 7, Pacatang shipped as samples 10 kilos of live Tilapia to an interested buyer in Hongkong.

Pacatang also revealed that Singaporean fish dealers and Japanese fish experts have tried his Red Tilapia.

“We are hoping we will get good results with our market,” he said. (PIA 11, Michael Uy)