BOHOL, October 7, 2021– The Marianasan Seaweed Grower and Fisherfolk Association (MASEGAFA) from barangay Jandayan Sur, Getafe, Bohol earned Php 288,530 gross sales from the Milkfish or Bangus Fish Cage Project of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program.

Through the program, the Department of Agriculture (DA) – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) granted the bangus production project to the 32-member fisherfolk association as an additional source of income.

Based on the Bohol Provincial Fishery Office (PFO) report, the MASEGAFA generated an income of Php138,600 from at least 1,155 kilograms (kg) of bangus harvested on September 24, 2021.

The group previously logged Php 149,930 sales in 2020 from its first bangus fish cage wherein they harvested 1,237kg of bangus (Table 1).

Table 1. MASEGAFA’s income from bangus fish cage production

BFAR-SAAD provided the MASEFAGA with Php 227,800 worth of interventions which includes 10,000 fingerlings, 103 bags of feeds, and materials for the fish cage funded under the FY 2019 budget in March and November 2020.

The group also received additional inputs such as 5,000 fingerlings and 120 bags of feeds worth Php 216,900 under the FY 2020 budget in June 2021.

The intervention also includes hands-on training for the construction and management of the fish cage. The fingerlings were sourced out from one of the BFAR-managed facilities – the Central Visayas Multi-Species Nursery Demonstration and Training Center in Calape, Bohol.

The bangus was cultured for about three months inside the floating-designed fish cage established off the Jandayan Sur shores. Currently, the association has two existing fish cages which cover 98 square meters, measuring 3 meters (m) in depth.

MASEGAFA is set to receive its third unit of fish cage complemented with fingerlings and fish feeds in October.

BFAR SAAD follows a three-year program scheme in which the beneficiary groups in the marginalized areas are capacitated to become sustainable producers of fish and other fish products to provide for their families and community.

Soon enough, MASEGAFA will run the fish cage operation on its own, manage its finances to support the succeeding stocking (fingerlings) and production, and plan for a project expansion. ###

Source: Ana Liza Anib – Casquejo, Bohol Provincial Fishery Office – BFAR Region 7

Writer: May Miasco – Cabucos, Information Officer- BFAR Region 7- SAAD

Copy-editor: Natalianne Marie O. Delos Reyes, PR and Communications Officer- SAAD NPMO