mb.com.ph; March 4, 2011, 2:06pm

MANILA, Philippines--Besides storing irrigation water, of what use are reservoirs for?

Fish culture is one profitable venture that could be done with reservoirs. And this is what rice farmers in Cagayan Valley do. They grow fish in small water impoundment projects (SWIP) which are among the 104 irrigation facilities that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Regional Office II have stocked in 2009.

BFAR Region II Assistant Regional Director Dr. Severina Bueno said that the agency has stocked a total of 1,074,700 fingerlings, which consisted mostly of tilapia and some carp. Stocking rate is 5,000 pieces per hectare.

“SWIPS and small farm reservoirs are ideal for fish production given their semi-confined feature, which minimizes threats of floods and strong water current in case of bad weather,” Bueno said.

The Liwan Norte Irrigators Association of Enrile, Cagayan, for instance, has already harvested more than 700 kilos of fish, mainly tilapia, from the 50-hecatre Liwan Norte Small Water Impoundment Project since November 2009, says its secretary Rolando Maneja.

They sell the fish, weighing five to three pieces to a kilo, at P65 per kilo. And they observed that harvest is good when the fish is fed only with natural food.

To prevent overfishing, the association only allows the use of simple hook and line as fishing gear. Gill net or sigay is used only when the harvest is intended for an occasion. Also, daily fishing is allowed only during the lean season. But during harvest season when farmers have money, fishing is done on weekends.

Some entrepreneurs, meanwhile, have installed fish cages in the SWIP, following the technology demonstration by the BFAR Region II. The association collects user fee from them.

“Fishing in our SWIP is a great benefit for us farmers, especially

during lean season. Likewise, we are optimistic that the fish cages can also improve the economy in our area,” Maneja says.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Usol, Jones town in Isabela, an average of 10 kilos are harvested every day from their SWIP. Fishers sell their catch for P80 per kilo, and harvest is continuous due to periodic stocking by BFAR, says Barangay Captain Diosdado Lazaro. Several fish cages are also installed here.(By MAX PRUDENCIO)

Source: Rice farmers raise fish in reservoirs