Philip Ong, president of Santeh Feeds Corp., works with fish farmers to expand the production of these high value fish and links them up with upscale hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.
"The idea of assisting farmers not only in providing technology but in marketing their products exposes them to opportunities that they probably have not even considered before. On the other hand, an increased production would make prices more stable while also offering households with more choices of fish products other than the usual bangus and tilapia fare," said Ong.
At a fish farm here located in a cove, Ong’s partners have invested a little over P1 million to put up 30 fish cages filled with seabass, lapu-lapu and pampano. The capital required is not cheap but the quick return on investments is what makes this venture increasingly attractive for fisher folks that still have to contend with subsistence farming of tilapia and bangus.
Moreover, a smaller module can be replicated for farmers with lesser financial capability and still generate substantial increases in their incomes.
For instance, one fish cage, inclusive of fry, feeds and all necessary structures can range from P30,000 to P50,000 each, depending on the kind of materials used to put up the facilities.
Each cage is filled with about 5,000 pieces of pampano fry for instance and after a single season or about six months, the harvest could reach 750 kilos to 1,000 kilos per cage and live fish is sold at about P300 per kilo or a total of P300,000 for a single cage.
"Basically, if your cages are fully stocked, you can easily recover your cost in the first harvest season alone and actually start earning more in subsequent seasons as your structures are already in place. Also there is a premium price for live fish compared with chilled fish," explained Ong.
Ong however, advises farmers to manage their production by limiting stocking of the cages and harvest just enough for the market to absorb and keep prices profitable for them while also making it within reach not only of their upscale markets but also the households.
The ideal size for the upscale market would be the 400 to 500 gram-sized fish, but for the wider consuming public or those sold in wet markets, the preferred size would still be the 200 to 300-grammers which is about the same size of tilapia usually distributed in major public fish markets.
To encourage fish farmers to venture into the production of high-value fish species, Santeh Feeds has gone beyond selling aqua feeds and is also introducing farmers to major markets. Ong stressed that the set-up will continue until such time that farmers, on their own, would have developed the skills to be dealing with their customers directly.
"My company will maintain its core business of selling feeds, what we are doing right now is to assist farmers so that in the process, we will also benefit if their market and production expands because we can supply them with reliable feeds," explained Ong.
As part of its assistance package to fish farmers, Santeh also supplies them with fingerlings brought all the way from the Saranggani Aquaculture Farms in General Santos City in Mindanao which pioneered in the culture of high-end fish.
At the same time, the company sponsors seminars on fish farming.It invites fish farmers who get valuable advise from fishery experts. At the same time, financial institutions catering to farmer-entrepreneurs such as the Quedan Rural Credit and Guarantee Corp. brief farmers on low-interest loans that they could avail of.
"My vision is for fish farmers to have better options. Right now, aquafeeds take up a large percentage of their production costs, and yet it is no longer as profitable for the smaller producers because oversupply is bringing down prices. Also, if disease strikes these farms, the industry becomes vulnerable to huge losses. But by promoting diversity, it gives farmers choices to make more money through cultivation of high value fish species. It creates demand while also protecting the biodiversity of aquaculture, they will never have to be too dependent on one or two fish species," said Ong.