Agriculture.ph Blog

Eat fish, stay healthy

DESPITE all those talks about some fish containing high levels of toxins (mercury, for instance), medical researchers still love fish, touted to be the last wild meal in the human diet. The biggest reason: It combats a top health threat, according to a current issue of Reader’s Digest.

“If you eat a modest amount of fish, you dramatically decrease your risk of dying from a heart attack,” Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a researcher of the Harvard School of Public Health, was quoted as saying by the magazine. Findings from 30 large studies conducted around the world show that people who consume just one or two servings of fish per week lower their risk of a fatal heart attack by an average of 36 percent, according to Dr. Mozaffarian.

That’s good news since the Department of Health ranks heart disease as the number-one killer in the Philippines.

“The death toll from cardiovascular diseases in the country is about one every seven minutes,” says Dr. Philip S. Chua, one of the country’s top cardiologists. Cardiovascular diseases don’t affect the heart itself but also the blood vessel system, especially the veins and arteries leading to and from the heart.

If you have already a heart attack, shifting to a high-fish diet can cut your chances of future deadly attacks by one third. You see, fish contains oil that is nature’s richest source of omega-3 fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Omega-3 fatty acids are a form of polyunsaturated fat that the body derives from food. Omega-3s (and omega-6s) are known as essential fatty acids because they are important for good health. The body cannot make these fatty acids on its own so omega-3s must be obtained from food.

An article which appeared in Journal of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition said omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil prevent heart disease by exerting an anti-arrhythmic effect on the heart, by inhabiting the developing of narrowing arteries, by reducing the levels of undesirable lipoproteins in the blood, and by reducing blood clots within intact blood vessels.

“If you heart high blood pressure is caused by hardening of the arteries, heart disease, or high cholesterol, fish oil may be just what the doctor ordered,” wrote the editors of Super Life, Super Health. “The higher your cholesterol levels and the worse your heart disease, the better fish oil works to lower your blood pressure.”

The American Heart Association suggests that people should eat at least two servings of oily fish each week to help keep their hearts healthy. Best sources of omega-3s are bass (striped), herring, mackerel, oysters, sablefish, salmon, trout (freshwater), and tuna.

But hearts are not the only human part that benefit from fish. Older folks considered fish as “brain food” and now scientists have evidence to back the claim. A 2007 study of nearly 12,000 pregnant women found that children born to mothers who ate more than 340 grams of seafood per week during pregnancy scored six points higher on tests of verbal IQ than kids born to mothers who had other foods on the menu.

What about adults? A study done in Sweden found that young men who ate fish more than once a week scored nearly 11 percent higher on IQ tests than males who rarely ate seafood. And in later years, fish eaters appear to be less likely to develop dementia.

But you ain’t heard anything yet. A study published in Biological Psychiatry has shown that omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent depression. Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, who studies the health benefits of fish at the US National Institutes of Health, discovered omega-3 fatty acids can raise the levels of serotonin and dopamine, two brain chemicals that are thought to play a role in depression.

Fish oil appears to have anti-inflammatory properties, and has been researched as a treatment for many conditions including inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It also has some preventive effect for Parkinson’s disease.

So when is fish not so good for your health? Almost all fish is contaminated with trace amounts of mercury. While most healthy adults have no problem eliminating the mercury from their bodies, children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid some types of fish and shellfish to reduce their risk of mercury exposure.

Fish that contain the low level of mercury are anchovies, catfish, clam, crab, haddock, hake, herring, salmon, sardines, shrimp, trout (freshwater), tuna, and whitefish. The following have higher content of mercury: swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tilefish. “Avoid eating them, as possible,” experts warn.

If you are concerned about mercury, or if you just don’t want to eat fish, you need to get omega-3 fatty acids from other sources. There are many plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, such as canola oil, flax seeds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds. The type of omega-3 fatty acids found in plants, called alpha linolenic acid (ALA), is not exactly the same as the fats found in fish, but experts say your body has the capability to transform ALA to both EPA and DHA.

Written By Henrylito D. Tacio

Source: Sun Star

Bangus can now be raised profitably

“BANGUS has always been the most important species cultured in the Philippines in terms of area and production.” These words come from the mouth of Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, former executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD).

In fact, the Philippines is one of the top bangus producers in the world, along with Indonesia and Taiwan. “Until recently, the country has contributed around 55 percent share of the world bangus production,” said Dr. Guerrero, who popularized tilapia production and consumption in the country.

The Philippines has been exporting bangus to other countries like the United States, England, Canada, and Japan. “The main consumer market, however, is the United States, where there are large Filipino communities,” Dr. Guerrero said.

Bangus farming is a centuries-old industry not only in the Philippines but in other Asian countries as well like Indonesia and Taiwan. In the Philippines, bangus is the major species in brackishwater fish farming and mariculture.

Reportedly, the industry employs close to 300,000 fish farmers, entrepreneurs, processors and workers.

To make the fishponds and fish cages productive throughout the year, adequate supply of bangus fingerlings is necessary. In the past, bangus growers depended on the fry caught from the wild. This was seen as a big gamble because the volumes of wild-caught fry are low and seasonal. Estimated supply from the wild is about 200 million out of the national demand of two billion bangus fry on a good year.

In recent years, importing fingerlings from Taiwan and Indonesia was the only option although it was not also practical as the fry are very expensive.

But with Finfish Hatcheries, Inc. (FHI) now selling bangus fry, bangus growers need not worry anymore. “We have been in the bangus fry production business since 1997,” said Rene B. Bocaya, FHI’s national marketing manager.

According to Bocaya, the price per piece of wild bangus fry was P1.00 a decade or so ago. “With the introduction to the market of hatchery produced fry (local and imported), the price now ranges from thirty to forty-five centavos per piece only. The hatchery-produced fry doesn’t only give very big savings to the fishpond operators, but it also provides them good quality and steady supply throughout the year.”

As a result of steady supply of bangus in the market, there are now processing plants for bangus value-added products. The foreign exchange earnings from bangus exports have been reported to be about US$15 million.

In Sarangani Province, where the FHI’s hatchery is located, bangus production has increased considerably. Actually, the hatchery is in Lun Masla, Malapatan. Here, about 13,000 breeders are maintained and managed to produce bangus eggs on a daily basis throughout the year. The eggs are collected, cleaned and hatched. The hatchlings are grown to the marketable sizes in 18-21 days in larval ponds. During the growing period, they are fed with a mixture of planktons and commercial feeds.

The breeders are 50 percent males and 50 percent females. “It is tedious to sex the fish individually and tag them,” Bocaya explains. “We have some breeders that are more than 25 years old and are still breeding in groups well.”

It takes five years for a bangus to mature sexually. FHI selects breeders for commercial production only when they are eight years old. The female breeder, called sabalo, can produce seven kilos of eggs in one year. And one kilo consists of 750,000 eggs.

Bangus is grown in a number of stages and in varying degrees of culture intensity depending on the grower’s production design and the nature of the growing environment. The simplest bangus value chain is the three-stage system of a nursery stage, a transition stage and a grow-out stage.

In the nursery, bangus is grown from fry (kawag-kawag) to fingerling (hatirin). In the transition stage, the fingerlings are grown to juvenile (garungan). In the grow-out stage the juveniles are grown to marketable sizes.

In the grow-out stage, bangus is produced in a number of categories depending on the pond structure the capitalization and the grower’s production design. Traditional extensive ponds using lablab as feeds normally seed 2,000 juveniles of 50 grams in size. Lablab production is takes six weeks. A well-prepared lablab pond can produce 500 kilograms of fish biomass. With 2,000 juveniles stocked, the grower is able to produce 300-gram fish in three to four months from seeding.

In intensive ponds with aeration, growers can produce 8,000-10,000 kilograms of bangus fish in a hectare. Stocking density to grow 500-gram fish is about 20,000 juveniles per hectare. In fish pens in Laguna Lake, juveniles of 30 to 50 grams are stocked at 50,000 per hectare. There is no feeding needed as the lake provides the algae that the bangus feed on.

In marine sea cages, juveniles of 30 to 50 grams are stocked at a rate of 20-50 per square meter depending on the site and the business plan of the grower. Harvest can reach up to 30-40 kilograms per cubic meter of 500-gram bangus in six to eight months.

According to Bocaya, at least 50 percent of the costs in intensive pond systems go to feeds. The other costs that figure are electricity, water, labor and pond maintenance costs. In marine cage systems, feeds are 80 percent of the costs. In extensive systems, lablab production is still 40 percent of the costs.

“On the average, gross profits are at about 25 to 30 percent of selling price on a good year across all production systems,” Bocaya points out.
No wonder, sales of hatchery-bred fingerlings are increasing. When they were new, the fish operators and growers were skeptical about using the hatchery-bred fingerlings. They thought that those caught from the wild were more hardy.

However, the perceptions of bangus farmers have changed, Bocaya said.

They now prefer the hatchery-bred fingerlings because they are more uniform and they also grow faster. Those from the wild usually have a survival rate of 50 to 60 percent while those from the hatchery usually have 82 to 85 percent survival rate.

FHI now sells hatchery-bred fingerlings all over the country. The major bangus production areas in the Philippines are Pangasinan, Bulacan, Laguna de Bay, Taal Lake, Iloilo, Bicol, Negros, Agusan, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga Provinces, Davao Provinces and the Cotabato Provinces.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has likewise spearheaded the production of bangus in mariculture parks all over the country. “All of these parks need fishpond nurseries and transition ponds to grow the juveniles,” Bocaya reports.

Written By Henrylito D. Tacio

Source: Sun Star

First fishing competition successful

EIGHTY-ONE individuals have competed Saturday in the first ever held fishing competition in Zamboanga City.

The competition dubbed “Pesca kita (Let’s fish),” was held at the Paseo del Mar, the latest tourist attraction of the city.

The four-hour competition, which started at 6 a.m. until 10 a.m., is an added attraction of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival 2009.

Mayor Celso Lobregat said the competition was conceptualized because of the establishment of Paseo del Mar, which since its opening last July 10 has been the favorite “fishing site” of local fishing enthusiasts.

The competition has two categories: on shore and off shore.

The winners in the on shore category are: Biggest fish caught by weight-Antonio Sr.; Alfred Ternasa, most number of fish caught; Ricardo Ladores, biggest total fish caught by weight; and, Roland Limen received a special Award for the first catch.

For the off shore category are: Sahirul Ganzon, bigged fish caught by weight; Roel Esperat, biggest total fish caught by weight; Alexander Reyes, most number of fish caught; and, special award for the first catch was received by Sahirul Ganzon.

Lobregat is planning to conduct such competition twice a year as Saturday’s event was successful.

One of the competitions could be held during summer and the second during Fiesta Pilar, Lobregat said.

The fishing competition was initiated by the Tourism Association of Zamboanga (TBA) headed Vicente Lim, in coordination with Mayor Lobregat, Z.C. Tourism Press Corps, Si Zamboanga under Ric San Juan, SOPHIL, Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatics Resources (BFAR).

The sponsors for the event were Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils., Mega Sardines and Unico.

Lobregat expressed delight that Mother Nature cooperated, paving the way for an uninterrupted competition. (Bong Garcia)

Source: Sun Star

Why Dagupan’s Bonuan ‘bangus’ tastes better

DAGUPAN CITY—In the fish consignacion (wholesale) market of Dagupan that operates 24/7, fish dealers sort out to look for the Bonuan bangus which they intend to ship to other provinces other than the milkfish produced in other areas of Pangasinan.

It seems the Bonuan bangus is a preferred stock of milkfish which vendors can cash on once these are shipped via refrigerated vans to the markets of Metro Manila.

A few hours later, the Bonuan bangus would sell like hot cakes in Q-Mart in Quezon City, the Quinta Market in Manila and other markets though priced higher than other milkfish sourced out from other fish producing areas of the country.

Nothing can compare with Bonuan bangus. Even the milkfish produced in Western Pangasinan, like Bolinao, Bani, Alaminos and Anda or Binmaley, and even those from Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan can’t stand in comparison with the bangus produced in Dagupan’s brackish water.

That is why in so many times, vendors try, but fail to fool their customers by placing tags of Dagupan bangus in their selling tables although in truth, their milkfish comes from other milkfish producing areas of the country.

One trick they usually do is to make it appear as if the fish they are selling came from Bonuan in Dagupan City is by cutting the lower tail of bangus.

This is because of the little known fact that the real Bonuan bangus has a lower tail shorter than the upper tail, which really makes it very unique as compared with the milkfish produced in other areas.

But, according to director Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) in Dagupan and one of the top technical experts on bangus, this is not the only distinguishing mark of the Bonuan bangus. The other is that it has a short head, a protruding stomach which is its most delicious part when cooked in any way, and a short mouth.

How come the Bonuan bangus acquired these distinct physical characteristics not present in other milkfish produced for instance in Western Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan and even at Laguna de Bay?

This question was posed to Rosario, also executive director of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) who is among those behind the establishment of the National Bangus Center as chief of the NIFTDC.

Rosario admitted he was involved in a study during his early years in the BFAR that looked into why Dagupan bangus tastes better than the other milkfish grown in other areas.

The BFAR team, he said, not only looked into the kind of soil that is present in Dagupan, but also the water that serves as the life blood of fishponds culturing bangus in commercial scale.

Rosario said that though Dagupan and the towns of Binmaley and Lingayen share the same river system called simply as the Dagupan River, they produce bangus with varying tastes and qualities.

Based on the study, the sweet taste of the Dagupan bangus may have been partly influenced by the clayish soil condition in Bonuan fishponds and rivers.

Aside from that, the soil, said Rosario, was found to be low on phosphorous, but high in calcium, the element contributing to the growth of bones of the bangus being raised in captivity.

As to the water, the type existing in Dagupan is brackish, which is a mixture of fresh water from the upland draining into the Dagupan River and salty water from the Lingayen Gulf. This makes the water in Dagupan truly unique, aside from the fact that there are seven rivers criss-crossing the city whose water ends up in the Lingayen Gulf.

Restituto Basa, one of the most respected historians of Pangasinan, wrote in his column “From the Salt Bed” syndicated in many of the newspapers in Pangasinan, that the mixture of fresh water and salt water to form into brackish water is really the secret why Bonuan bangus tastes better.

The fresh water comes from the upland of Mount Ampucao in Tuba, Benguet that drains into the Tagamusing River in Binalonan, onto Santa Barbara through the Sinocalan River, the Marusay River in Calasiao and then to Dagupan’s Pantal River down to the Lingayen Gulf.

Other water bodies and estuaries from the south are draining into Dagupan, the catch basin of many rivers in Pangasinan.

As to the physical aspect of Bonuan bangus, its short head and a lower tail shorter than the upper tail, was influenced by the unique feeding method being applied by local fish farmers they inherited from their ancestors.

Rosario said local fish farmers used to feed their fish with the naturally-grown lablab, an aquatic plant produced through fertilization with the aid of the burning sun.

The process is done once the fishpond is emptied with water after one production cycle and dried for a few days.

Rosario said because of this unique feeding method, Bonuan bangus won’t eat the food in the surface of the water vertically, unlike other fish, but rather horizontally. And in the process, its lower tail is thrusted into the lablab in the bottom of the fishpond, thus explained why its lower tail is shorter than the upper tail.

Its round head, according to Rosario is influenced by constant diving into the floor of the fishpond to eat lablab undergrowth, the natural method of feeding bangus. PNA

Source: Business Mirror

Meat processor keen on investing in corned tuna

MEAT-processing firm Foodsphere Inc. has expressed its interest in investing in the tuna-canning business, citing the bright potential in the domestic market of corned tuna, a new product that is expected to boost the canned-tuna sector.

Jerome Ong, president of Foodsphere, said a new investment into the corned-tuna category would provide  Filipino consumers with better alternative to existing canned-tuna products in the market today.

“Foodsphere, with over 34 years of experience in meat processing, is venturing into the corned-tuna category, as a part of its expansion plan,” said Ong.

“This forms part of the company vision to diversify into other food products which can be enjoyed by the Filipino household,” Ong said.

Corned tuna, the first of its kind in the Philippines, is a new category in the canned-tuna industry which is expected to expand the market for healthy products demanded by consumers with active and healthy lifestyle.

“Corned tuna is a new category in the canned-fish industry. Its entry will make the industry grow bigger, to the benefit of the Filipino consumers,” said Ong.

The introduction of new product categories is expected to result in a more competitive canned-tuna industry, where only a few players dominate 90 percent of the market. There are less than a dozen brands competing in the local market today.

Corned tuna is expected to attract even nonfish consumers because of its delicious taste combined with healthy content, two factors sought by modern consumers who want to have satisfying meals while staying fit, active and healthy.

Foodsphere, founded by Jose and Corazon Ong on June 26, 1975, is one of the leading meat-processing companies in the country today.

It has been cited by the Department of Agriculture because of its ability to manufacture and market high-quality processed meat products at cost- competitive prices.

Apart from meat processing, Foodsphere is also into meat canning, fruits bottling, water distilling, cheese and mayonnaise production, and fish canning.

It has recently invested P300 million in a modern manufacturing and distribution facility situated over a 9-hectare property in Malvar, Batangas, that would expand the company’s capacity by an additional 150,000 kilos of food products daily.

Source: Business Mirror

Research brightens prospects of Pangasius

MANILA, Philippines – Research continues to brighten the horizons of Pangasius fish in the country.

Pangasius (scientific name: Pangasianodan hypophthalmus) is a tasty, soft-fleshed freshwater fish introduced in the Philippines years back from Vietnam initially as an ornamental fish.

Subsequently, its food qualities became more appreciated. Now, it is known for its fish fillet and whole meat value.

Over the past few years, research has unraveled the potentials of this fish known by several names: Mekong kanduli, Mekong River catfish, Swai catfish, Basa fish, and Cream Dory.

The Los Baños-based Luzon State Poly-technic University-College of Agro-Fishery Sciences (LSPU-LB) is now culturing Pangasius in fishponds, fish cages, and tanks.

Prof. Susanan Escobin and Prof. Gil Justiniano of LSPU-LB recorded in a joint report that Pangasius can grow at three to five grams per day in a fishpond.

“It can survive in waters with low levels of dissolved oxygen,” LSPU-LB stated.

Among the pioneers in the local Pangasius industry is the Blue Bay Aquaculture of Jimmy Kuan and Nick Cual. Its main office is on West Ave. in Quezon City, while its hatcheries are in Nueva Ecija and Isabela (Santiago City). Fingerlings are produced in these facilities and sold to grow-out fishfarmers in various parts of the country, in fact, as far as the Cotabato region in Mindanao.

Pangasius fillet and whole fish are now sold in market outlets, notably in some parts of Metro Manila, although still in limited volume. A kilo costs as much as P60.

Kuan told The STAR in an interview that their company looks forward to much further development of the industry as the luscious fish continues to titillate the palate of fish consumers.

Written by: Rudy A. Fernandez

Source: Philippine Star

PINOY AQUATICS FAIR

The 2nd Pinoy Aquatics Fair will be held at the Quezon Memorial Circle on Sept. 18 to 20 under the auspices of AANI in cooperation with DOST-PCAMRD, Fisheries Industry Group, Quezon City Government, Quezon Memorial Circle Administration, REEF Philippines
and others.

A hobby goes big time

MANILA, Philippines – Fe Mejia-Vidal started her now popular CBN Bonuan Boneless Bangus products 14 years ago with only 20 pieces of bangus (milkfish) and P500 capital. CBN are the initials of the names of her three children.

At the start, people knew about her products only by word-of-mouth, but over the years, her fame has spread far and wide, from the province of Pangasinan to different parts of the Philippines and even to other countries. Her products can now be found in malls, restaurants, hotels all over the country.

One day, she recalled, during a convention of certified public accountants at the mayor’s office, she hung a streamer in front of her residence upon the prodding of her friend who believed in the potential of her product.

To her surprise, convention delegates stopped by to taste her delicacies, and bought her products.

When she would accompany her children to school, she would tell her fellow mothers she had bangus products. She brought samples and they sold out immediately.

From an initial 20 pieces of bangus, Kagawad Fe – as her neighbors call her, since she was a former barangay kagawad (councilor) – is now the biggest producer of boneless products, with average daily production of 30 banyeras (tubs), each tub containing 120 pieces of bangus.

During peak season starting September, CBN produces daily as much as 50 to 60 banyeras of boneless products like daing, tinapa, belly, relleno, lumpia, kilawen, longganisa, nuggets, burger, and siomai.

She used to have a Taiwanese client who brought her products to Hong Kong and Singapore and ordered one ton of boneless bangus twice a month.

Balibayans are among her loyal clients who bring her products to different countries.

Dagupan City’s biggest mall CSI, which has many branches in the province of Pangasinan as well as in La Union and Candon in Ilocos Sur, sells boneless bangus products made by CBN.

Vidal, a former teacher, employs 40 workers who help her meet the rising demand for her products. During peak season, she hires more helpers. Her workers process the fish manually, but they are certified hygienic, she shared.

While competition is tight in this business, she said she has the edge because of the quality of bangus she uses – only the best and the freshest, and only those that are grown and harvested in Pangasinan.

Looking back, Vidal said she and her husband Renato are blessed with their business and are able to give their three children a good education. They were also able to acquire several properties through their hard work.

She is thankful to their products’ official carriers, Victory Liner and Dagupan Bus, for helping them deliver their products promptly to their clients, who pick up the boxes and crates of their bangus at bus terminals in various parts of the country.

“In this business, trust is very important, and I maintain this with my clients,” she said.

Asked why she does not put a brand on her products that will make people identify the producer, Vidal said,” So that my clients who sell our products will also have the chance to earn, otherwise people will go straight to us.”

“In this life, it is important to share your luck and blessings with others,” she added.

Written By Eva Visperas

Source: Philippine Star

Bicol explores potential of seaweed farming; 20 innovative products developed

The commercialization of seaweeds and seaweeds products in Bicol Region is now underway, said Aida S. Andayog, manager, Regional Fisheries Research and Development Center (RFRDC) Region V. This was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – National Seaweed Technology and Development Center (BFAR-NSTDC), the local government units (LGUs), and fisherfolk partners.

Initially, on-farm research and a seaweed nursery were established in 2003 through a Community-based Participatory Action Research-funded project on seaweeds production that became a model farm for the coastal municipalities of Sorsogon and eventually, in the whole region.

With enough harvests of seaweeds, the fisherfolk, through the continuous assistance of the different bureaus of DA, have found ways to market their produce and came upon the idea of processing them into various food products.

The project, “Product Development/Improvement and Commercialization of Seaweeds in Bicol Region” led by Ms Andayog paved the way for developing seaweeds into various innovative food products.

Specifically, the project was aimed at systematizing and creating a comprehensive development and commercialization of seaweeds and processed seaweed products in the Bicol region and to establish village-level seaweed production and processing enterprises.

As a strategy, the project tapped the existing people’s organization (PO) and assisted them in the production, development, and formulation of processed food products derived from seaweeds. These are the Tiwi Food Processors Association (TFPA), Green Ladies Association (GLO) and the Malinao Food Processors Association (MAFPA) from Tiwi, Albay and the neighboring town of Malinao.

Trainings and seminars were also conducted to educate farmers and the PO members on the principles of good manufacturing practices (GMP) and sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOP) which are prerequisites of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points program (HACCP) and a guarantee of the quality of seaweed food products produced.

Furthermore, products underwent sensory evaluation to assess the product appearance, odor, flavor and textures and, more importantly, its nutritional value through nutritional evaluation.

“We develop and create new products which are not only affordable but are also nutritious,” Ms Andayog emphasized.

Currently, has developed 20 nutritious products from seaweeds. These are: seaweed candies, seaweed noodles, pickled seaweeds, seaweed chips, nata de seaweeds, seaweed tart, seaweed jam, seaweed chocolate bar, yema with seaweeds, craknels de seaweed, seaweed longanisa, macaroon with seaweed, fish lumpia with seaweed, seaweed morcon, “Namnam” or baby’ food, seaweed capsule, seaweed marmalade, seaweed kropek, seaweed juice, gulaman cupcake, and other value-adding products.

“These products have competitive advantage in the market considering the uniqueness, taste, and nutritional value. Seaweeds are low-calorie food, with a high concentration of minerals, vitamins, proteins and digestible carbohydrates, and some lipids. Seaweeds also contain fats and are rich in iodine, iron, magnesium, and sodium and has high amounts of calcium and phosphorous. This could be the answer to heart disease and hypertension” Ms Andayog explained.

The project is funded by BAR under its National Technology Commercialization Program (NTCP), one of its banner programs designed to promote viable technologies on agriculture and fisheries by providing financial assistance, and to encourage small farmers and fisherfolk to engage in agribusiness.

Written by Edmon B. Agron

Source Bureau of Agricultural Research

UP leads sea cucumbers research

The Philippines is the world’s second largest producer of dried sea cucumber products, after Indonesia.

To generate scientific basis and development technologies to help manage the industry, three constituent universities of the UP System are leading a three-year (2007-2010) research program on sea cucumber resource management and culture.

With funding from the Department of Science and Technology, the UP Diliman Marine Science Institute (UPD-MSI), the UP Visayas College of Arts and Sciences (UPV-CAS), and the UP Mindanao College of Science and Mathematics (UPMin-CSM) have embarked on interrelated and complementary research projects that will study commercially-viable sea cucumber species—their populations, habitats, and reproductive behavior—which will, in turn, be used to improve the culture of these species and for stock enhancement.

In addition to DoST, the UP researchers are supported by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research through WorldFish and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).

The export of dried sea cucumber products is a multi-million peso industry, but it is largely unknown to the Filipino market, except to the Filipino-Chinese community and coastal villages. These products are among the most important marine products in China, Japan, and Korea.

Apart from economic reasons, the bid to save sea cucumbers also stems from the fact that they play major roles in the marine environment. Sea cucumbers feed on decayed organic matter on the seabed and stir up sediment as they move, providing a healthy habitat for other marine organisms.

Dr. Marie Antonette Juinio-Meñez, UPD-MSI professor and project leader of the Luzon component, said their studies focus mainly on sandfish Holothuria scabra as it is the only tropical sea cucumber that has been cultured.

However, one of the objectives of the program is to develop the culture of other commercially-viable species given that there are over 40 of them in the country.

Recently, they produced the first batch of juvenile Stichopus horrens, which is a highly-value coral reef associated species.

According to Juinio-Meñez, the UPD-MSI project has scaled-up production of H. scabra at its Bolinao Marine Laboratory in Pangasinan and has established the first pilot sea cucumber sea ranching sites for this species, where over 10,000 hatchery-produced juveniles have been released at each site.

Source: Manila Bulletin