The Tilapia Hatcheries Of Calauan, Laguna

CALAUAN is a second-class municipality in the province of Laguna about 75 kilometers south of Manila. It has a population of more than 80,000 people and elevation of 65 meters above sea level. While it is known as “The Home of the Sweetest Pineapple in Laguna,” the town is also a major producer of Nile tilapia fry and fingerlings for culture in the floating cages of Taal Lake in Batangas, which produced over 22% of the total farmed tilapia production (261,210 metric tons) in the country in 2015.

We visited the tilapia hatcheries in Barangay San Isidro in Calauan recently to assess their setups. The hatcheries consist of earthen ponds that were developed from once irrigated rice fields. Water is mainly from an irrigation source. Ranging in size from 1 to 6 hectares per hatchery, the hatchery areas are leased by financiers from their owners who may also be employed in the operations.

The tilapia breeding and nursery ponds in the Calauan hatcheries measure 300-600 m2 each or larger with water depths of 0.6-1 meter. Nile tilapia breeders (mature male and female fish) with body weights of 50-80 grams a piece (3-4 months old) are initially stocked in the ponds at a density of 4-5/m2 and sex ratio of 5 females to a male. With feeding of commercial pellets, 500 of the breeders can produce 100,000 fry in a month during the good weather months of June to November. Fry released by the mouth-brooding female breeders are collected 2-4 times a day along the edges of the breeding ponds at about 10 days from stocking of the breeders for 2-3 weeks using fine-mesh dip nets.