MANILA, Philippines — In a move to address the fish supply gaps in Batanes during lean season, the government inaugurated on Thursday the first-ever tilapia hatchery in the province.
This municipal tilapia hatchery is located in Barangay Raele in the municipality of Itbayat.
Equipped with breeding, nursery, and treatment and conditioning ponds, as well as a water system vital for hatchery operation, the facility is expected to produce 300,000 to 500,000 tilapia fingerlings annually, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr.
Strategically located in the only area in Batanes with a freshwater lake favorable for aquaculture activities, the hatchery is seen to sustainably boost tilapia production in the province which experiences decline of catch especially during typhoons.
“Now that you have your own tilapia hatchery, you will no longer need to ride big waves just to obtain your supply of fingerlings from other provinces in the mainland just to be able to conduct fish farming,” Tiu Laurel said in his video message played during the inauguration ceremony.
To date, Batanes has six associations engaged in fish farming, but they depend on supplies coming from the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan.
“These supplies are usually transported for long hours of land travel and by plane, entailing huge costs for transport alone,” Laurel said in a statement.
By the time the supplies reach Batanes, the fingerlings have already suffered 30-50 percent mortality, according to the secretary.