‘Fish condo’ paves the way
FISH FARMING IN CITIES
BINMALEY–Want to engage in fish farming at your home in an urban area? It is possible.
Technology for “fish condominiums” is available, thanks to Dr. Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) based in Dagupan City.
Rosario, in an interview with THE PUNCH, said he developed the fish condo concept in 2006 to enable people living in crowded cities and busy urban areas to grow fish and help boost protein food for their families.
Rosario said the technology was recently shared by NIFTDC with the Pangasinan Technological Institute (PTI) in Binmaley, which offers an Aquafarming Systems course.
A memorandum of agreement was signed by Rosario with PTI Vocational School Administrator Jovencio Ferrer Jr. making available to the school a 14-D Fish Condo which will be used as a demonstration model.
The signing of the MOA was witnessed by Technical Education Skills Development Administrator Francisco Jucar Jr.
4,200 HARVEST
With the condo, fish can be bred in extensive quantity even in cities that have no available ponds.
The model consists of at least 14 drums that are serviced with continuously running recycled water, which can be installed in backyards or even in rooftops of existing housing buildings.
Each drum can raise up to 300 fish per production cycle of three to four months, fed two or three times a day.
With the 14-drum model, up to 4,200 can be harvested after each production cycle.
A bigger model, a 28-D Fish Condo, is also available.
Rosario said African hito has been found to the best fish species that can be raised in the fish condo.
WATER FOR PLANTS
Another advantage of the technology is that the water used in each production cycle can be used afterwards for garden plants without using fertilizer as the water already contains organic matter.
This means, Rosario said, that urban families can actually raise both fish and grow vegetables at the same time.
Rosario said NIFTDC is hoping that through the fish condo, students of PTI can learn and promote this alternative means for agricultural production.–LM
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