Hot tropical months good, bad for ‘bangus’ trade, expert says

DAGUPAN CITY—The hot dry months brought by the country’s tropical climate are both good and bad for locally grown milkfish (bangus), according to an aquaculture expert here.

Dr. Westly Rosario, head of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC), said milkfish breed during hot months but during which they may also be exposed to extreme heat that could kill them.

Rosario said milkfish are prone to stress because of the heat and could die.

“This is why we have been advising our pond owners to take advantage of the heat to freshen up their ponds,” said Rosario in a media forum on Thursday.

He said old ponds that have accumulated organic matter in their beds through the years lose their productivity. “The solution there is to sun-dry the pond. There is no disinfection protocol more effective than sun drying,” he said.

He said sun drying kills all bacteria, viruses and parasites in the pond. Toxic gases created by organic matter deposited in the pond will also escape, he added.

In a radio interview last week, city agriculturist Emma Molina said some bangus growers harvested their stock a week earlier than scheduled because of the heat and unpredictable rains.

The local office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said it recorded the highest temperature in this city this year on April 11 at 36.7 degrees Celsius. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon