Milkfish Production and Processing ... - WorldFish Center

Table 10. Milkfish culture practices in earthen ponds.
Culture
System
Stocking
Density
(fish/ha)
Food Supply
21.2 Management Programs of
Earthen Milkfish Ponds Based
on Four Types of Philippine
Climatic Conditions
Some 85 percent of milkfish production in the
Philippines comes from brackishwater fishponds.
As such most of the milkfish produced in the
country relies on natural feed, largely lablab,
the blue-green algal complex and to a certain
extent “lumot” or filamentous green algae. With
Milkfish Production and Processing Technologies in the Philippines
Pond
Size
(ha)
Pond
Depth
(cm)
Water
Mgt.
Crops
(yr)
Yield
(kg/ha/yr)
Extensive 1,000- ,000 Natural food 1-50 40-50 Tidal 600-1,800
Modular ,000- Natural food 1-10 40-50
Plankton 4,000-6,000
Multi-Sized
Group
Semi-
Intensive
10,000 -1 ,000
8,000-1 ,000
Intensive > 0,000
Natural food
supl. feeding
Natural food
Supplemental
Feeding
Natural food
supl. feeding
Commercial
feeds
1-10 ≥100
Tidal
Pumping
Tidal
Pumping
1-10 40-50 Tidal
1-5
0.1-1
40-50
75-1 0
40-50
75- 00
Tidal
Pumping
Aeration
Tidal
Pumping
Aeration
4-8 ,000-4,000
- ,500- ,000
Selective
Harvest
,000- ,000
- 5,000-7,500
- 8,000-1 ,000
Table 11. Three types of management programs of milkfish ponds in accordance with the four types
of climatic conditions (Source: Tang, 1967).
Type of Management
Program
Type I
Type II
Type III
1st fish
rearing season
2nd fish
rearing season
1st fish
rearing season
2nd fish
rearing season
1st fish
rearing season
2nd fish
rearing season
Period for
conditioning
the pond
bottoms
Period for
rearing the
fish
Nov Dec to Apr 1st type: pronounced
seasons, dry from Nov to
May Jun to Oct
May, wet during the rest of
the year
Oct Nov to Mar
Apr May to Sep
Feb Mar to May
Jun
Type of weather Region
nd & rd types: Seasons
not very pronounced,
relatively dry from Nov to
April or with maximum
rainfall from Nov to Jan
4th type: Rainfall more
or less evenly distributed
throughout the year.
The western part of North
and central Luzon and of
Mindoro, Panay, Negros and
Palawan
The eastern part of South
Luzon, Samar, Leyte, Panay,
Negros, Palawan and
Mindanao; the western and
central part of Mindanao; and
the whole island of Masbate
and Cebu.
The western part of South
Luzon, Samar, Leyte and
Mindoro; the eastern part
of North and Central
Luzon; and southern part
of Mindanao; and the whole
island of Bohol.
such feed it is obvious that milkfish production
in the Philippines is weather-dependent. Long
periods of sunshine favor algal production and
therefore milkfish production. It is not surprising
that the major milkfish producing regions where
average annual production always exceed one
metric ton consist of Ilocos, Central Luzon
and Iloilo. Pond management programs based
on the 4 climatic types of the Philippines are
indicated in Table 11.
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