QC launches urban aquaculture project

Quezon City has been declared the pilot area for the country’s urban aquaculture project, dubbed as “Pangisdaan sa Bakuran.”

The project involves the culturing of the fast-growing Pangasius catfish in the backyards of urban poor homes to enable the participating families to raise a total of 180 fishes in 90 days.

The Pangasius can be cultured in six plastic drums arranged like a three-tiered pyramid, which can be placed in a backyard as small as five meters long and four meters wide.

Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has launched the project at the Barangay Paligsahan Hall in District 4 by awarding Pangasius fingerlings to families from depressed areas in the city.

“This is now a part of the city’s poverty reduction effort, specifically aimed at mitigating the impact of rising prices of commodities,” said Dr. La Rainne Abad-Sarmiento, chair of the city’s Anti-poverty Integration Task Force (APITF) and head of the city’s Sikap Buhay Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives Office (SB ECO).

The project is a partnership between the Quezon City government, through the APITF, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Angel Club Multi-purpose Cooperative, Vitarich Corp. and the A & L Fish Hatcheries, Inc., according to Sarmiento.

Pangasius, which is known in restaurants as the dory fish, is also called silver striped catfish, Siamese shark, sutchi catfish, Bocourti, and swai catfish. It is native to the Mekong River delta shared by Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Due to global demand, this type of catfish is cultured not only in the Mekong Delta countries, but also in nearby nations like Myanmar and Indonesia. It can be cultured in fishponds, fish cages and pens, drums, and concrete tanks.

Beneficiaries of the “Pangisdaan sa Bakuran,” who will take part in the pilot project for three months, were given hands-on training during a seminar conducted by the SB ECO.

Vitarich and Angel Club MPC will provide the feeds for the Pangasius fingerlings during the 90-day nurturing period.