A Retired Couple Runs A Successful Aquaculture Business With Their Millennial Son
Agriculture|August 2019

8 TREASURES is a bangus (milkfish; Chanos chanos), alimasag (mangrove or mud crab; scylla serrata), and sugpo (tiger prawn; Penaeus monodon) farm located in Lubao, Pampanga. The area is comprised of fishponds that span different municipalities, some of which can only be reached by boat. The ponds are separated by dikes—strips of land where people can cross, some of which are equipped with wooden slats that, when piled on top of each oother, can be used to control how much water gets in and out of a pond.

Yvette Tan
A Retired Couple Runs A Successful Aquaculture Business With Their Millennial Son

The fishery started about seven years ago by Pepe and Pat Cruz in a different barangay. Pepe used to work in a private corporation while Pat was a housewife and real estate agent. Unfortunately, that first pond flooded every year, so they had to give it up.

The current ponds are run by their son Patrick, 36, who is Operations Manager, with Pat as Finance Officer. “Patrick and I… like the idea of growing seafood,” Pat said, adding that it was mother and son who convinced Pepe to give the business a try. “My husband didn’t want it at first. We had major disagreements before (he agreed).”

Patrick studied nursing, but graduated at a time when job prospects were drying up. “It was exactly when we acquired this,” he said.

The Cruzes have added 10 hectares (the average size of a pond) to their ponds every year, so what started out as 12 hectares is now 83.5 hectares spread across three barangays.

MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE

“The first thing for me is monitoring from day one to harvest,” Pat said.”Monitoring is important because you can track progress.”

Of the three, king prawns are the most sensitive, and there are times when the entire stock die for no reason. Like with any livestock, daily monitoring is important, especially after two months, when growth and progress can be seen with the naked eye and health and the fry can be held for inspection. Even then, the prawns are so sensitive that this is no guarantee of a big harvest.

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