aquafarm news • bighead carp culture
The practice of carp hatchery technology around Laguna de Bay
By N J D a g o o n
B ighead carp (A ristic h th y s n o b ilis) w as introduced in the P hilippines by C hinese experts co m m issio n ed by th e P hilippine F isheries C om m ission (N IFRC, undated).
In 1966-67, culture trials w ere successful and in 1968, im portation began to launch the P h ilip p in e s’ F re ed o m from H u n ger c a m p a ig n in v o lv in g c a rp fa rm in g and p olyculture o f freshw ater fishes.
The bighead carp, as its nam e suggests, has a big head and a short and b lu n t snout.
O n its d orsal an d upper portions, y e llo w ish black blotches are scattered. The carp is a zooplankton feeder and spends its life in freshw aters. It n a tu ra lly sp aw n s in river m ouths. In its native habitat, subtropical and tem perate C hina, the carp breeds only once a year. H ow ever, in tropical condi
tions, this carp sp ecies h as been proven to m ature an d rem ature several tim es annu
ally.
T he a g e n c y re sp o n sib le for d em on
s tr a tin g th e f e a t is S E A F D E C 's B inangonan F reshw ater Station (B FS) in the P hilippines. Since 1981, BFS has con
tinued to d evelo p other technologies b en eficial to the artificial p ropagation of b ig h ead carp in the trop ics. T hese research m ilestones include: induced spaw ning and fry production in 1983; com pletion of the bighead carp lifecycle in 1986; form ulation of an effective b rood stock diet in 1987; and refinem ent of induced spaw ning techniques in 1988.
Located in T apao Point in R izal Prov
ince, B FS overloo ks So utheast A sia’ s larg e st freshw ater body, L ag u n a de Bay. At 900 km 2 in surface area and w ith a m ean w ater volum e o f 3.2 x 109 m 3, the lake plays h ost to a great num b er of econom ic uses:
fishfarm ing, cooling water, open w ater fish
ing, irrigation a n d barging, as w ell as in
dustrial w ater su p p ly (C harlton 1993). The m ost im portant u se o f the L ake h as been as fish e ry re so u rc e ( B a r r ill 1993). A b o u t 76,000 fam ilies, reports Barrill are depend
ent on the Lake for livelihood through com m unity and open fishing. O w in g to the SE A F D E C p resence, a g o o d p ortio n of th e m a re in to b ig h e a d c a rp b u s in e s s : grow out culture and broodstock-hatchery m aintenance.
B arangay K alinaw an is an illustration of h ow extensive carp culture has been in the area. Seem ing but a stone’s throw aw ay from the SEA FD EC station, it claim s to be 90% sold on or devoted to bighead carp culture. G leaning from som e testim onies, it m ay be said that the villagers attribute their econom ic success to the venture.
V isits to tw o big h a tc h e ry sites in K alinaw an have yielded interesting infor
m ation on bighead carp culture practices o f private industry in the Lake.
The first visit w as at N ormelito C erda’s h a tc h e ry facility. N o rm e lito 's b ro th er Vergio co-ow ns the hatchery and acts as its c are ta k e r/te c h n ic ia n . T he C e rd a s h ave a b o u t 4 h a fo r g r o w -o u t c u ltu r e an d broodstock in the lake. B eginning in 1988, their business expanded in 1995 to include a P 240,000 hatchery facility. After several years, the C erdas have regained their capi
tal and are earning som e more.
Production runs for their hatchery av erage about tw o lim es a m onth, depending on w eather conditions. Starting w ith breed
ers having a total w eight of around 7 kg, the h atchery now has an av erage (low - scale) production of 200,000 fry from a h atc h in g rate o f 40 % . D u rin g sum m er m o n th s, e sp e c ia lly aro u n d M arch , this peaks at 70%.
W hen hatched, the fry stay for a w eek in hatching jars and are fed at least once a day w ith m ashed eggyolk before transfer to a rented p o n d (1/4 ha) in H alayh ay, Pililla, R izal, where these aw ait buyers. Fry dem and is so strong these days that the fry are alm ost alw ays disposed.
T he C erdas’ gross earnings are pegged at about P60,000 from sales of fry at 12-15
centavos each. D educting expenses, a net profit o f about P 20 ,000 is realized, which is divided into four shares.
T hough not h avin g undergone form al training on bigh ead carp sp aw n in g w ith SEA FD EC, Vergio C erda claim ed that the research agency started everything in the L ake (inclu ding tilap ia culture) and has done m uch for present-day econom ic ac
tivities in the area. H e added that he got his learning from self-study done w hile h elp ing others start their ow n inland hatcher
ies. H e also c au g h t up on the skill through a c q u a in ta n c e s an d c lo se kin w h o w ere SEAFDEC staff and w ho inform ally passed on the expertise. H e claim ed that he him self does not follow the SEA FD EC tech
nique a hundred percent, but has m odified som e steps alo n g the w ay according to e x pediency.
A ccording to him , a successful carp hatchery ow es m uch to training or study on how to breed carp, equipm ent, a good site, and hardw ater conditions. H atchery facilities m ust include an electric motor-run w ater pum p, spaw ning tank (his has a c a
pacity of 4,000 liters) an d hatching jars (he ow ns around 12, each having a capacity of 120 l). Before stocking w ith new ly ferti
lized eggs, it is im portant, he noted, that the jars should be cleaned w ith soap and water, w ith chlorine added, to m inim ize the occurrence of disease.
In the com m unity, he said, there is also the practice o f renting out breeders. The done deal is w h en 20% of hatched fry is given to the broodstock ow n er for hired service.
The C erdas h ave a steady “ suki” (ha
bitual custo m ers) m arket for their grow -out produce also: they usu ally sell at P30-35 a kilo. M arket prices in M anila, according to Vergio, vary from P 60-70.
Vergio C erda reiterated the problem of bad w eather conditions several tim es in the interview. A ch ange in w eather can som e-
26 SEA FD EC A sian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 5 October 1999
aquafarm news • bighead carp culture
tim es abo rt operations, as stocks die or e s
cape from the pens. A ffected farm ers often h a v e to b u ild a g a in . To re p le n ish th eir broodstock, they som etim es resort to cap
turing “escapees” from open w aters.
T h e hatchery caretaker left us w ith these parting w ords: “ Industry, persever
ance and g oo d d ealings w ith people are the secrets to our success."
T he second visit w as a t the A quafresh B ig h e a d C arp H a tc h e ry c o -o w n e d an d m an aged b y Mr. R aul A ralar. R aul shares ow nersh ip w ith his brother E m il, a sister and his mother.
E stab lished in 1995 w ith a capital of P 700,000, the h atchery is reputed to be the b iggest o f four in K alinaw an. It does three runs a m onth. E ach run com posed of about 7 large breeders produce an average o f two m illio n fry, w ith hatching rate reported at 80% . In about tw o w eeks, all larvae are sold, at ab o ut 15 centavo s apiece. O f the h atchery’ s gross earnings per run, around 30% is the total deductible expense.
B u yers w ho m ost of the tim e pick up their fry (packed at about 11,000 per bag) report a m ortality rate of about 10%. B u y ers com e from around L agu n a L ake and even as far as G eneral Santo s City.
W hen asked h ow good the profit w as, he said it is very goo d these d ays. B ut the boom in the carp hatchery business only
sta rte d th is year, he claim ed. Perhaps b e
c a u s e c a rp w a s not popular before. Now, som e b a n gu s breeders are n o w s h if tin g to grouper. Bighead carp, according to him, has becom e m ore popular than tilapia w ithin the L agu na de B ay area.
H e h im se lf p ractices c a rp -tila p ia p o ly c u l
ture in a one hectare cage. Currently, he has
5,000 bigheads, w hile stocking tilapia at 25 per m2.
H e cited the follow ing advantages of carp over other fish: fast grow th (in eight m onths, it can reach 2.5 kg); being a n o fuss feeder (m ay n ot require any feeding at all as m ost of its life is spent in the lake foraging for natural food); and acceptance by people.
For first-time carp aquaculturists inter
ested in hatchery operations, A ralar recom m ended the follow ing practices. L ook for good staff w ho know about the fish and can be tru ste d a ro u n d them . T h e h a tc h e ry should be situated in a good site— e.g. near the Lake so that stripped fish can be easily brought back to their pens to recover. Feed
fish w ith supplem entary food p ellets when feasible; feed the new ly hatched larvae with m ashed eggyolk, A rtem ia and M oina. M ake it a fam ily b usiness so that everyone cares or sacrifices for it. H e estim ated that 300 b ro o d sto c k w o u ld a llo w a h a tc h e ry to break-even in its first year.
H e added that it w as his brother Em il w h o taug ht him carp h atchery technology.
Since then, he has im proved on the m ethod.
A n exam ple o f a significant m odification page 34 A view of Kalinaw an w ith the C erd a s’ carp hatchery facility on left
Selectin g mature carp from the C erd a s' tw o-hectare broodstock coop in the Lake
Mr. Raul Aralar, full-tim e m anager and co-ow ner of Aquafresh B igh ea d Carp H atchery a t Binangonan, Rizal
SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 5 October 1999 27
aquafarm news • bighead carp culture
from p r e v io u s p a g e
too m any m igh t satu rate the m arket for grow -out.
T h e B F A R C e n te r p ro d u c e s o n ly aro u n d 2 0,000 to 5 0,0 00 fingerlings per p ro d u ctio n sc h e d u le . It se lls th ese one- m onth-old hatchlings at a price m uch low er than the p riv a te secto r d oes (₱1 th erea
bouts), for 30 cents apiece. S p aw ning runs are d one at the C enter 5 to 6 tim es a year-.
E x istin g m a rk et c o n d itio n s su g g e st not m uch d em and for com m on carp in M a
nila. In L ucban, Q u ezo n an d the B ico l re
gion, how ever, carp p rices ran g e from P90 to P 12 0 a kg.
B ighead carp is u su ally sold disguised as a m arine fish (e.g., m ay a-m ay a) in big city m arkets. Its sectio n s are priced differ
en tly : the h e a d re g io n , ₱4 5-50 ; h ead to belly, ₱ 70 and the tail p ortion, ₱ 45.
T h e C e n te r d o e s a c k n o w le d g e the need to prom ote the accep tab ility of carp as a foodfish, in m a rk ets d o m in ated by m arine fish produce. T h is goal m ay be re
alized w ith N IF T C ’ s pro p o sal to integrate v alue-ad d ed carp-based p roduction d e v e l
o p m e n t in c o l la b o r a t i o n w ith th e p o sth arv e st tech n o lo gy d iv isio n o f BFAR.
C arp is very g o o d for surim i products, M s.
P alm a noted.
C arp is 12% o f the n atio nal freshw a
ter fish p roduction as rep orted by the B u reau of A gricultu ral S tatistics (B A S ), the N IF T C C hief noted. But this figure could be m islead in g, she said. “ T w enty per cent w o u ld be nearer the actual p ro d u ctio n .”
She added that the discrepancy m ust be b e
cause different areas h av e different local n a m e s fo r c a rp — b ig h e a d . Im e ld a and m a m a lig are carps. She h as ask ed B A S to review its record ed d a ta and reconcile its statistics w ith current production.
C a rp f is h e r ie s d e v e lo p m e n t th a t N IF T C lo ok s forw ard to in the future is la n d -b a se d : p o ly c u ltu re a n d in te g ra te d farm ing. T he first-ever N IF T C natio nally c o n d u c te d tra in in g o n c a rp -b a se d in te grated farm ing is slated this October. “T he integrated approach w o u ld be a very sound
developm ent,” she said, noting that it is the C en ter's next step after carp hatchery and c u ltu re te c h n o lo g y transfer; an d that it m eets the governm ent’ s goals of food suf
ficiency and sustainable aquaculture devel
opm ent.
W hen ask ed for her co n clu d in g re
m arks, C hief Palm a said: “C onsidering the low production o f carp and high p roduc
tion turn-out for culture, and if w e ’ re try
ing to develop an alternative species geared tow ards attaining food sufficiency at the sam e time preserving the environm ent, I think w e can alw ays look up to carp as an alternative species—C arpa p a ra sa M a sa, C arp for the M asses.” ###
SEAFDEC tech ... from page 29
W hat k in d of c a rp cu ltu re d e v e lo p m en ts w ould you like to se e in th e fu tu re?
Engr. Aralar: Increase in the survival rate o f larvae. It is very low right now. We consid er 60% already very high. H atching rate depends on w ater quality m anagem ent, it varies from about 60 to 80%.
Dr. Santiago: I’ d like to see people w o r k /f u r th e r d e v e lo p m e n ts o n th e b roo d stock s’ consistent reproductive per
form ance.
W hat d irectio n w ill th e fu ture ta k e?
Dr. Santiago: B ro o d stock d e v e lo p ment rather than hatchery operations.
H as carp hatchery tech n ology reached its f u lle st p o te n tia l?
Dr. Santiago: T here’ s still m uch room for grow th, esp ecially in landlock ed ar
eas— those areas w hich cannot be supplied b y m a r in e f is h , lik e s o m e a r e a s in M indanao.
Any p a rtin g w ords f o r o u r rea d ers?
Dr. Santiago: I w ould just like to re iterate that if y ou go into carp culture, you w ill be supporting the cou ntry’ s food se
curity program . I ’ d like to assure you that there is m oney in carp culture.
the practice / Laguna ... from page 27
he has done, is finding out w h at causes som e fish ailm ents— gas bubbles, deform i
ties— and elim inating these. The m ethods are his trade secrets.
H e does n o t plan to expand into value- added products in th e future yet. W hat he envisioned is the acquisition and setting up o f a 2 0 -h a fish pen for b roo d stock and grow -out operations. C urrently, he has a 50% sh are o f a g ro w -o u t p ond in Sta.
M aria, L aguna. He sells his grow -out pro
duce at ₱25 per kg. T hese are m a rk e te d at th e B in a n g o n a n a n d M a la b o n m arkets, w here h e said, “kahit ilang tonelada, ubos lahat” (even tons and tons o f fish w ill all be sold out).
A ralar plans to increase their fam ily’ s current stock of 1,000 broodstock. That is b y purchasing breeders w hose prices range from as low as P 300 to P800. B y doubling the capacity of his hatching jars to accom m odate 7 m illion fry per run, he believes he can fill in the current 30% deficit in fry supply.
L iv in g c o n d itio n s is h is b a ra n g a y w hich he estim ates has around 2,000-3000 fam ilies have im proved: and this prosper
ity he attributes to carp.
REFER EN C ES
Barrill C. 1993. W ater quality assessm ent and m anagem ent of Laguna de Bay: concepts, p ro b le m s and s tra te g ie s . In: P S ly (ed).
Laguna Lake Basin, Philippines: Problem s and O pportunities. UPLB: Laguna, P h ilip pines, p 115-142
C harlton M. 1993. Laguna Lake (P hilippines) w ater quality trend analysis study. In: P Sly (ed). Laguna Lake Basin, Philippines: P rob
lem s and O pportunities. UPLB: Laguna, Phil
ippines, p 168-187
N atio n al In la n d F is h e rie s R e se a rc h C e n te r (NIFRC). Undated. History and developm ent of carp culture in the Philippines
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34 SEAFDEC A sian Aquaculture Vol . XXI No. 5 October 1999
