Thursday, August 07, 2008 Ledesma: Bangus By Jun Ledesma Sunburst
IT'S an incredible story. Doming, a retired BPI employee, told me he is bound to earn his first million from a bangus cage that measures only 10m x 10m. Last Saturday, I personally witnessed the unfolding of the first chapter of that one million saga.
Davao del Norte Governor Dolfo del Rosario was equally excited as Doming. You see the 1,000 hectares marine sanctuary at Kaganguhan, Panabo City was the governor's pet project. When he was still a member of the Cabinet, he had this vast expanse of coastal water and mangrove fields proclaimed as Mariculture Park along with five other areas in Davao Gulf.
Governor del Rosario recalled that it is so difficult to convince fishermen to go into the revolutionary method of raising bangus in fish cages. "Not even when I told them that fishermen in Saranggani province and a number of investors who tried raising bangus in cages have become millionaires. I also told them that off the coast of Hong Kong, near those little islets are grouper fish cages that feed the bustling population of HK," del Rosario said.
To prove there is indeed money in a fish cage measuring 10 x 10 meters, Governor Del Rosario convinced friends from Tagum City to act as trailblazers. Last Saturday was to be their first harvest. I convinced some doubting Thomases in the media who look like Tony Ajero of the Edge, Jun Gutierrez and King Quimpan of Radyo Ukay and Manny Cabrera of Mindanao Journal Concepts to join me in the safari to Mariculture Park in Panabo. It was daybreak when we left and before the sun was up we were at the park to rendezvous with the governor.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR) Regional Director George Campeon was there. He was everything but a bureau director. George was supervising the unloading of the first batch of bangus harvested from Doming's pond. A comprador from Davao City arrived earlier and they took advantage of the high tide to ferry the fish in a banca. Already several basins had been unloaded and weighed. It was awe-inspiring watching thousands of bangus being unloaded from the banca and sorted out before they are sold out to the compradors.
A fish cage is stocked with 15,000 fingerlings. (Although I read somewhere that it can easily contain 20,000.) At a wholesale price the gross income is about P430,000. It takes three months to raise bangus to a size of about three pieces to a kilo. The initial investments on cage materials, net and a rest house, which perches on one corner of the fish cage are covered by the first harvest.
But Doming spread his cost to a number of months to make his efforts rewarding.
Governor Del Rosario later stepped into the banca and we have no choice but to follow. It was a thrill of a lifetime. In just a few minutes we hopped into the floating rest house in Doming's fish cage. We caught up with fishermen still in the process of harvesting the thousands of bangus. It was fun. And what a day to spend a weekend.
Del Rosario said that soon after Doming setup his fish cage, several others followed. There are now 78 fish cage operators. He said that the initial investment is quite a burden to a single fisherman, so he has encouraged them to form a cooperative. He also said that he is personally willing to give them the seed money for he is confident that the return of investment is almost a guarantee.
In times when some quarters are endlessly griping about the present food crises and rising cost of commodities, Governor del Rosario is busy finding ways to help many disadvantages cope up and maybe transforming them to modest entrepreneurs.
There is only one alarming thing I noticed on our way to the Mariculture Park. The rich mangrove growth is slowly being ravaged by people who are appropriating the coastline for themselves. They cut down the trees to set up talipapa and picnic grounds, which in no time at all became permanent structures. I wonder what the Panabo City authorities are doing about this wanton destruction of a marine resource, which is sanctuary of fishes in Davao gulf.
Maybe Congressman Anton Lagdameo should intervene and help in the preservation of bakawan trees. Come to think of it, Ms. Margie Moran Floirendo is an environmental activist. She should come on the rescue if the city of Panabo is helpless.
