Tags: Aquaculture, Entrepreneurship
By Anna Valmero
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA— Tilapia is considered one of the most “profitable” fishes in the Philippines, with local produce being served in middle-income homes to high-end restaurants.
Tilapia is also identified by the Department of Agriculture as one of 12 fishery products that can generate up to $10 billion in export revenues. To manage a 1,000 square meter tilapia pond, you will only need to invest P35,000 and earn a net income of about P37,000.
This makes tilapia culture very profitable and appealing especially for those looking for a backyard business, said Hannibal M. Chavez, manager of Regional Fisheries Research and Development Center, a sub-agency of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Calabarzon Region.
Before venturing into tilapia farming, one must select a site for the pond with clay soil to hold the water. The pond should be free from floods and located near a spring, deep well or irrigation to ensure availability of water throughout the culture period.
In designing the pond, cultivate the soil to form a dugout and use the excavated soil as peripheral dikes around the pond.
When viewed in cross-section, the pond should be trapezoidal in shape such that the pond bottom gradually slopes downward with a height of 1.2 to two meters deep. Make sure to have a water inlet to increase water level, an overflow pipe and a water outlet for drainage.
To prepare the pond, pesticide application is needed, alongside liming or lime application at a ratio of 1,000 kilos per hectare and application of fertilizer at a ratio of 3,000 kilos per hectare for organic fertilizer and 300 kilos per hectare when using inorganic or chemical-based fertilizer.
Fill the pond with good quality of water. Always monitor the dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, turbidity and hardness. Ideally, water should be changed weekly to provide oxygen-rich water for the pond, dilute waste products and introduce new food organisms.
Once the pond has been prepared and filled with water, stocking comes next. Stocking or releasing fish into the pond should be done early in the morning or late afternoon when the temperature is cool.
Stocking rate is about two to five fingerlings per meter-square for extensive culture up to ten to 20 pieces per square-meter for intensive culture. Be sure to acclimatize the fish to the new environment before releasing them from the bag.
When feeding the tilapia, remember that tilapia is a daytime feeder. During the fry and juvenile stage, they feed on planktons and later become omnivorous feeders when they are adults. Select commercial feeds that are ten percent protein and 90 percent carbohydrate.
To make plankton available in the pond, apply organic fertilizer at a rate of 3,000 kilos per hectare every fifteen days. The fertilizer could be broadcasted to spread it around the pond or placed in a teabag.
Keep records of the activities in the pond to track possible reasons for the success of failure of the project. By rule of thumb, expect a ten percent mortality rate when raising tilapia. Sampling is done to determine if the stock is ready for harvest. To do this, take the body weight of 20 pieces as sample.
Harvesting can be done after six to seven months. The desired market size for tilapia ranges from 100 to 200 grams each fish. A kilo costs P80 on average.
Harvesting can be done fully by draining the pond and removing all the fish or, partially or called thinning of stocks where bigger fishes are removed to allow the smaller fishes to grow.
Get more information about Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
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Aquaculture involve:
* Construction the farm from start to end.
* Export and distribution issues.
* Disease control and health management.
* Fish processing plants.
* Maintenance.
You can read more about aquaculture business here