Cage Culture of Grouper (Lapu-lapu) Part 2

Summary

The video discusses the feeding and growth cycle of grouper fish in aquaculture. It explains how smaller fingerlings are fed more frequently to reduce cannibalism, while larger fish, once they reach 150g, are fed only once a day to prevent waste and environmental pollution. The cycle for growing grouper to market size takes about 16 months, with the first harvest occurring at 12 months. Grouper is highly valued in Asia, providing a high return on investment despite the long cycle, making it a profitable choice for fish farming.

Takeaways

• 🐟 Feeding small fingerlings multiple times daily reduces cannibalism and supports growth.
• 🍽️ Once the fish reach 150g, they only need to be fed once daily to prevent waste and pollution.
• 📏 Feed amount should be 3-5% of the fish’s body mass, exceeding this leads to waste.
• 📦 TTI feed is preferred for its availability, quality, and timely weekly deliveries.
• 📅 The typical growth cycle for grouper to reach market size is around 12 months, but full cage harvest takes up to 16 months.
• 💰 Grouper farming is chosen for its high market price, especially in Asia, despite the long growth cycle.
• 🔁 Only 20% of the fish reach market size in 12 months, with the remainder taking 14-16 months.
• 📉 Feeding frequency and pellet size decrease as the fish grow, reducing operational costs.
• 💼 Grouper farming is highly profitable due to the high market price and lower feeding costs after reaching 150g.
• 🌍 Aquaculture parks are suitable for foreign investors, offering job opportunities and economic benefits to local communities.

Q & A

What is the recommended feeding schedule for 1-inch fingerlings?

For 1-inch fingerlings, they should be fed as often as they are willing to eat to prevent cannibalism. Typically, they are fed fry mash since their mouths are not large enough for bigger pellets.

How should feeding be adjusted as the fish grow larger, particularly after they reach 150 grams?

Once the fish reach 150 grams, they should be fed only once a day, usually at dusk, as they tend to purge any excess food and waste it. Feeding more frequently can lead to environmental pollution and financial waste.

What percentage of body weight should be fed to the fish?

The fish should be fed 3% to 5% of their total biomass. More than 5% results in wasted food, which affects both the cost and the environment.

What are the advantages of using TTI feed for grouper farming?

TTI feed is valued for its availability, good formulation, and technical support. It is distributed in the area, delivered weekly, and the company ensures timely deliveries, which prevents the need for excessive storage and reduces the risk of disease.

How long is the full growth cycle for grouper fish until harvest?

The full growth cycle for grouper is about 16 months, with the first group of faster-growing fish ready for harvest in 12 months. Slower-growing fish take around 14 to 16 months to reach market size.

Why is grouper chosen for aquaculture despite the long growth cycle?

Grouper is chosen for aquaculture because of its high market price, especially in Asia. While the cycle is longer than other species, the return on investment is much higher due to the higher price per kilogram.

What market price does grouper fish currently fetch in Cebu?

In Cebu, grouper currently fetches about 485 pesos per kilogram, making it a highly profitable species for aquaculture.

How does the feeding strategy for grouper differ from other fish species?

Unlike other species that need to be fed three times a day, grouper only needs to be fed once a day after reaching 150 grams. This reduces feed costs and increases the profit margin.

What are the benefits of setting up fish farming operations in special zones for foreign investors?

Special zones for foreign investors are pre-selected for their suitability for fish farming, ensuring optimal growing conditions. These zones help create jobs for the local community, from cage work to potential processing plant operations, transportation, and more.

What is the broader economic impact of fish farming in the community?

Fish farming stimulates economic activity by creating jobs not only in fish farming but also in processing, transportation, and other related industries. This economic activity benefits entire communities and helps meet global food demand.

Outlines

00:00

🐟 Feeding Techniques for Young Fingerlings and Growing Groupers

The first paragraph discusses the feeding habits and requirements for young groupers, particularly fingerlings, which are fed fry mash due to their small mouth size. The importance of frequent feeding is emphasized to prevent cannibalism. As the fish grow, the feeding frequency decreases, and groupers weighing around 150g only require one feeding per day at dusk. Overfeeding leads to waste and environmental pollution, so it's recommended to feed the fish 3-5% of their body mass. The speaker also highlights the benefits of using TTI feed, a reliable supplier in their region, which helps maintain fish health and avoid stockpiling issues.

05:21

⏳ Growth Cycle and Market Value of Groupers

This paragraph delves into the growth cycle of groupers, explaining that while about 20% of the stock reaches market size (500g) within 12 months, the full cycle for all fish to mature and be harvested can take up to 16 months. The text emphasizes that groupers are a valuable species in the market, particularly in Asia, with high returns on investment due to their premium price, despite the longer culture cycle compared to other species. The speaker also highlights that while grouper feeding takes less effort compared to other fish, the longer cycle still results in a favorable profit margin.

10:22

🌱 Economic and Social Impact of Grouper Farming

The final paragraph covers the broader economic and social benefits of grouper farming, particularly in specialized zones for foreign investors. The speaker encourages investment in this business, citing the high demand for fish and the economic activities that surround fish farming, such as processing plants and transportation. Additionally, they highlight how teaching proper fish culturing techniques can benefit local communities by creating jobs and promoting sustainable practices. The speaker emphasizes the importance of maintaining environmental standards to ensure the long-term viability of marine species production.

Keywords

💡Fingerling

Fingerling refers to a young fish that is about 1 to 2 inches in size. In the video, it is discussed in relation to feeding practices, as smaller fingerlings require specific feed types like fry mash due to their smaller mouths. The video emphasizes adjusting feed size and frequency based on the growth stage of the fish.

💡Cannibalism

Cannibalism in the context of fish farming refers to the phenomenon where larger fish consume smaller ones. The video discusses how proper feeding practices, such as ensuring the fish are well-fed with the right amount and frequency of food, can reduce the likelihood of cannibalism among groupers, improving stock survival.

💡Biomass

Biomass refers to the total mass of the fish population in a farming cage or system. In the video, it is used to explain how feeding quantities are calculated, as fish are fed based on a percentage (3-5%) of their total biomass. This ensures efficient use of feed and minimizes waste.

💡Pelletized feed

Pelletized feed is a type of fish food that is compressed into pellets. The video highlights that grouper fish, once they reach a certain size (150g), only require one feeding a day using pelletized feed. This type of feed helps minimize waste and is more efficient for fish farming operations.

💡Market cycle

The market cycle refers to the time it takes for a stock of fish to grow to a marketable size, which in the case of grouper fish is about 12 to 16 months. The video explains that while some fish grow quickly within the first 12 months, others may take up to 16 months, leading to a staggered harvest cycle. This extended period is one of the challenges of grouper farming.

💡Grouper

Grouper is a species of fish that is highly prized in markets across Asia for its value. The video discusses why grouper is chosen for farming due to its high market price, which provides a strong return on investment, despite its longer growth cycle compared to other species like milkfish or rabbitfish.

💡Feed management

Feed management refers to the process of controlling the type, amount, and frequency of feeding in fish farming. In the video, the importance of feeding groupers correctly is stressed, such as feeding smaller fish multiple times a day and transitioning to once-a-day feedings as they grow larger, to minimize waste and optimize growth.

💡Tati feed

Tati feed is a specific brand of high-quality commercial feed used in the video for grouper farming. The video mentions that this brand is highly regarded for its formulation and the reliability of its distribution, which ensures that the farmers receive fresh feed regularly, avoiding issues related to feed storage and spoilage.

💡Environmental impact

Environmental impact in fish farming refers to how the farming practices affect the surrounding ecosystem. The video highlights the importance of minimizing waste, such as overfeeding, to prevent pollution of the water environment. It emphasizes responsible farming practices to maintain a sustainable operation.

💡Foreign investment zones

Foreign investment zones are special areas where foreign nationals are allowed to engage in business activities, such as fish farming. The video explains that foreign investors are generally limited to these zones, which are selected for their suitability for fish cultivation, ensuring that the environment is conducive for the business.

Highlights

Fingerlings are initially fed fry mash as their mouths are too small for larger pellets.

Feeding the fish as often as they want helps reduce cannibalism among groupers.

Once groupers reach 150 grams, they only need to be fed once a day, typically at dusk.

Overfeeding groupers leads to waste and environmental pollution, so feeding should be limited to 5% of their body weight.

Tati feed is the preferred choice due to its availability and the regular weekly deliveries.

Storing too much feed can lead to disease, so maintaining a steady supply with regular delivery is crucial.

The grouper farming cycle can take up to 16 months, with some fish growing faster and reaching market size in 12 months.

Grouper is highly prized in the Asian market, making it a valuable species for aquaculture despite the long farming cycle.

The cost of inputs like labor and cage building is similar across species, but grouper yields a much higher return due to its market price.

Feeding grouper only once per day after they reach 150 grams significantly reduces feed costs compared to other species.

Even though the farming cycle is longer, grouper farming offers a high return on investment due to lower feed costs and high market value.

Aquaculture in special zones for foreign investors ensures suitability for fish growth while providing economic opportunities.

Developing grouper farms creates jobs in both cage maintenance and other areas like processing, transportation, and feed mills.

The potential for economic growth through grouper aquaculture is significant, benefiting communities and creating sustainable jobs.

Sustainability and environmental preservation are key to maintaining successful grouper aquaculture operations.

Transcripts

[Music]

well with with with a 1 in traditionally

you know the the 1 in or the 2in uh

fingerling is going to be handled about

the same way um with the 1-in fingerling

uh they're going to eat the the fry Mash

right in the beginning uh their mouths

are not big enough to take the the the

larger pellet so we have to give them

the size of feed that they're able to to

actually fit inside their mouth um what

what we what we like to do is feed them

as often as they want to eat uh that's

going to help with the the cannibalism

that occurs with this species if your

grouper well fed they're not going to

feed on you know the your stock Inside

the Cage so you know we like to keep

them fed you know maybe six or seven

times as many times as they will eat uh

that's what what I recommend for the

small ones um once they grow a little

bit more then you can adjust the the

feeding um probably when they're about 2

or 3 in you probably can feed them three

times in a day in the morning maybe in

the afternoon and in the evening uh what

we find is that once they reach 150 g

the they really only want to eat one

time in a day and we feed them at dawn

so uh excuse me at dusk right it's dusk

uh we feed them at about 5 PM PM once

once they're 150 g uh they really only

will eat one time in a day if you feed

them more they'll just really Purge the

food out and and and it will be waste

it's waste out of your out of your cost

and it's waste for the animal and it it

pollutes the environment so we only

really recommend one feeding a day after

they're 150 g um as far as the the

amount of food that we feed them it's a

percentage of the actual biomass and uh

we're feeding them between three and 5%

of their entire body mass so uh the way

you would calculate that is you take a a

sampling of the fish you estimate the

size and then you calculate the amount

in kilos that is inside by how many

pieces you have so you know it's it's a

ratio for sure but you know more than 5%

we're finding that it's waste you know

so the the really the recommendation for

that animal is 5% of their body weight

we we we we are using tati feed and

we're we're happy that tati feed is is

actually Distributing here in BHO nobody

else I think uh distributes high value

uh feed for for our group or um they're

the only ones in the area in bhul that

are Distributing the feed so so we're

happy to use TTI feed cuz it's available

uh we like the formulation our fish are

healthy and uh you know we we we have uh

our representative come here once a week

and he checks up on us if we need if we

need him to he always has the feet here

on time so you know they they deliver

every Tuesday to us in our area and you

know so it helps us that we don't have

to keep too much stock on hand you know

to have a regular delivery that way we

don't you know we don't incur any of the

the diseases or the problems that that

happen when you store too much food and

you're not disposing of it uh quickly

enough so you know yeah has really

helped

USS Market

this commercial feeds is developed

through our stateoftheart

research early

infection benefits grou

feeds

gas to Source

trp

labor

[Music]

elrie environmental

friendly main balance

environmental already avail

techical support through feeding

management cage management at

management well you know the the the the

all the literature that I had read when

I originally started culturing this was

was giving a 12-month cycle um what

we've actually learned learned is that

the cycle is a little bit longer than

that uh the shooters will grow to Market

size which is 500 G in 12 months uh but

you're only seeing about 20% of your

stock of Any Given stock being being

fast Growers about 60% will grow let's

just say at a standard rate and then the

the the rest of the 20% will grow

relatively slowly

so if if you're going to talk about the

entire Cage being liquidated uh you may

see 16 months between you know when you

first stock and then when you harvest

your last one uh of course the shooters

will be first uh they'll grow relatively

quickly in 12 months uh then you'll see

somewhere 14 months and then finally the

the slowest growing ones in 16 months so

we're we're we're seeing an

actual uh cycle of about 16 months to to

empty the entire

stock uh the reason we chose grouper to

culture grouper um is because the

difference in the market price from

other fish that we have available to us

uh grouper is actually um very highly

prized not only in the Philippines but

in all of Asia um it's one of the

highest uh priced fish of of really

anything that they're pulling out or

culturing um so what what we're seeing

is that all the capital inputs are

relatively the same the labor costs are

the same you know the cost to build the

cages are the same the Nets are the same

the only difference is the the market

price of the fish at the end of the

cycle um the really the only hindrance

to to culturing grouper is the long

cycle uh you must be willing to to wait

the one year the 14 months uh before you

return but if you're thinking about a

12- month cycle you're you're going to

return higher than you would culturing

bangus or milk or excuse me of rabbit

fish or any other species it it's it's

actually we're we're seeing a pretty

high return on it uh right now the the

market price for grouper in subu

it's probably about 485 pesos a kilo um

so you know we definitely like that

market price uh we're we're seeing a

very high return on our investment here

it's just the cycle is a little bit long

you know the the the other aspect is is

the feeding the the amount of kilos that

imp pelletized feed that it takes you

know with with uh a lot of the other

species you're you're you're feeding

them three times in a day and with

grouper you know you're really only

feeding them one time in a day after

they get to 150 g so you know even

though the cycle is is longer uh the

actual return on investment is much

higher uh the profit margin is is very

nice when when you actually come to

Market with your fish so you know we for

that reason we we we like grouper for

sure

Facebook

partner well you know I'd like to

encourage anybody to to to to to do this

kind of business but you know here you

know in this park it's it's suited for

foreign investors um generally uh

Filipino national can culture fish

anywhere they would choose to any

suitable place um for for a foreign

foreign National you know we're pretty

much restricted to these special zones

which is you know it's fine these areas

are pre-selected for their suitability

for growing fish

um if you have the time and also some

free Capital you know I I I think you

can multiply your Capital by doing this

business fish is fish is in demand here

I mean just like anywhere else um the

high valued species of course are are

commanding a higher price but as far as

uh you know the technical

knowledge it's easy to learn you know

it's it's nothing that you know is

beyond anyone's capacity you know for

for most of the the the people here

they're already they're already engaged

in some sort of fishing activity and

just to teach them the proper techniques

to culture the fish you know it will I

think you know will benefit not only

them but their families and their whole

communities what what we like about this

park is that once we develop it you know

there's going to be a lot of jobs here

you know for not only the people that

are actually working on the cages but if

we set up processing here there'll be

people uh working in the processing

plants uh if there's a food mill or any

other any other thing you know

Transportation um there's just lots of

economic activity that happens and

surrounds this this business so you know

the more economic activity we have the

more jobs we can create for our own

individual communities so you know I

think it's more profitable than lots of

other businesses that are that are

really being engaged in right now and

you know it's it's we're doing a good

thing we're we're growing food for the

world you know so you know you can feel

good about what you're doing you can

feel good about what what where your

money is multiplying from you can you

can there's lots of things to feel good

about you know as long as we're taking

care of our environment and making sure

that the area that we grow in stays

pristine and suitable for for production

of marine species you know the the

potential for these sites is is

incredible

[Music]