ECONOMIES OF SCALE FOR THE

PRODUCTION OF BANGUS
UNDER POND CONDITION
ENGR. JESSIE D. PANGILINAN
 INTRODUCTION
• THE BACKBONE OF PHILIPPINE AQUACULTURE” IS HOW BANGUS FARMING
HAS BEEN REGARDED BY MOST FISHERY EXPERTS. ALTHOUGH COMMERCIAL
PRODUCTION OF BANGUS DATES BACK MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO, IT WAS
ONLY IN RECENT YEARS THAT SIGNIFICANT GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY WAS
REALIZED.
• TODAY, 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. RAFAEL D. GUERRERO III, FORMER EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF THE PHILIPPINE COUNCIL FOR AQUATIC AND MARINE RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT (PCAMRD).
 INTRODUCTION
• ALSO KNOWN AS MILKFISH, BANGUS (SCIENTIFIC NAME: CHANOS CHANOS)
IS MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO CARPS AND CATFISHES. IT OCCURS IN THE
INDIAN OCEAN AND ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN, TENDING TO SCHOOL
AROUND COASTS AND ISLANDS WITH REEFS. A WARM WATER SPECIES, IT
PREFERS WATER TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 20-33 DEGREES CENTIGRADE.
• IN THE PHILIPPINES, BANGUS CAN BE RAISED ANYWHERE. HOWEVER, THE TOP
BANGUS PRODUCING PROVINCES ARE BULACAN, PANGASINAN, CAPIZ,
ILOILO, AND NEGROS OCCIDENTAL (EXCEPT MABALACAT). THE MOST RECENT
REPORT RELEASED BY THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS (BAS) SHOW
THAT THE COMBINED PRODUCTION OF THESE FIVE PROVINCES ALONE
ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY’S TOTAL
PRODUCTION.
 OBJECTIVE
• TO DETERMINE THE ECONOMIC SIZE FOR
BANGUS PRODUCTION TO SUSTAIN THE
MONTHLY INCOME OF 12,500 FOR THE FAMILY
WITH 5 MEMBERS
 EXTENSIVE OR STRAIGHT-RUN METHOD
• 15 - 25 FINGERLINGS PER SQUARE METERS FOR FURTHER GROWING TO POST-
FINGERLINGS. STOCKING DENSITY OF MILKFISH FINGERLINGS OR POST-
FINGERLINGS IN THE REARING POND RANGES FROM 1,000 TO 3,000 PER HECTARE
DEPENDING ON THE AVAILABILITY OF NATURAL FOOD IN THE POND AND THE
TARGET SIZE AT HARVEST (200 TO 500G PER FISH). HARVESTING OF THE FISH IS
USUALLY DONE AT ONE TIME. MILKFISH PRODUCTION FOR THIS METHOD VARIED
FROM 300 TO 900 KG PER HECTARE PER CROP OR AN ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF
600 KG TO 1,800 KG PER HECTARE
 EXTENSIVE OR STRAIGHT-RUN METHOD
• EXTENSIVE OR STRAIGHT-RUN SYSTEM IS THE TRADITIONAL AND MOST WIDELY
PRACTICED MILKFISH CULTURE METHOD IN THE PHILIPPINES AND IS ALSO KNOWN
AS “STOCK AND WAIT METHOD”. THE FISH STAYS IN THE SAME GROW-OUT POND
FROM THE TIME THEY ARE STOCKED TO THE TIME THEY ARE HARVESTED. BASIC
PONDS REQUIRED ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 4 AND FIGURE 12 SHOWS A TYPICAL
LAYOUT. THE FISH FEED MAINLY ON BENTHIC ALGAE (LAB-LAB) AND FILAMENTOUS
GREEN ALGAE. WATER MANAGEMENT IS PURELY TIDAL. THIS EXTENSIVE METHOD OF
MILKFISH PRODUCTION USUALLY STARTS IN THE NURSERY POND WHERE FRY ARE
STOCKED AT A RATE OF 30 TO 50 FRY PER METER SQUARE. THE FRY ARE REARED IN
THE NURSERY FOR 1 TO 2 MONTHS AND GROW TO ABOUT 5-8 CM (3-5 GRAMS)
FINGERLINGS. THE FINGERLINGS ARE THEN TRANSFERRED EITHER DIRECTLY TO THE
REARING POND OR TO THE TRANSITION/STUNTING POND AT THE RATE OF
 ASSUMPTIONS
Production Area 1 ha
Stocking Density 3,000
Survival Rate (%) 90%
• TABLE 13. BIO-TECHNICAL ASSUMPTIONS OF MAJOR CULTURE METHODS IN EARTHEN
Culture
PONDS. Period (days) 135
• EXTENSIVE MODULAR SEMI-INTENSIVE INTENSIVE
Crops (per year) 2
Ave. Harvest Size (g) 333
Ave. Yield per Crop 900
Farm Gate Price (PhP/pc/kg) 75
GROSS INCOME 135,000