Fish cage livelihood yields income for folks

By Maritess B. Beñas

LAGANGILANG, Abra -- The freshwater fish industry is booming in this town, thanks to efforts of the provincial government to provide alternative livelihood to constituents.

Tilapia grown in fish cages in Barangay Nagtupacan here yielded much income for fish cage owners, said provincial agriculturist Jesus Villamor, Jr.

Some 3,000 fingerlings, he added were given free by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist and it took the fingerlings four months to grow from seeding to harvesting.
The fish cage owners harvested about 450 kilos of tilapia.

Villamor said considering that the price of fresh tilapia in Abra is P120 per kilo, the cash income generated if all the tilapia were sold would be P54,000.

The accomplishment of the fisherfolks of Nagtupacaninspired members of the 4-H Club of San Juan town headed by ReymartBeroña, who also sought the assistance of the OPAG for free fingerlings.

In response, the OPAG gave last week the youth group around 3,000 fingerlings which they will raise in fish cages located in Baug, San Juan.

OPAG is now operating two fish hatcheries in the province – the first in Kirmay, San Isidro, and the other is located in Malamsit, Peñarrubia.

The hatchery in Malamsit was established during the administration of Gov. Eustaquio P. Bersamin who vowed to support the economic activities of the farmers and fisherfolks in the province in his campaign sorties. -- JDP/MBB-PIA