Wild milkfish abound in Australia's north coast
Item Type article
Authors Surtida, Augusto P.
Download date 29/09/2021 19:41:42
Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/35055 aquafarm news • milkfish culture
A lack of fry in the wild meant that Wild milkfish abound in Australia’s north coastmature fish had also vanished and hatcher ies were forced to grow fish to replace then- aging broodstock. This was and still is caus ing in-breeding and diseases problems and is a major concern to breeders and farmers By AP Surtida alike. Good news to Asian milkfish farmers who Only a tiny amount of immature With prawn farming in the doldrums, are looking to buy milkfish broodstockmilkfish and are landed by coastal net licensemany Asian farmers are turning to milkfish large quantities of fry. In a feature byholders and are sold locally to the smallas the only viable alternative and therein Richard Mounsey in INFOFISH (Sept/OctFilipino community in Darwin. lies the problem of scarcity of quality fry. 1998 issue) the milkfish resource in the In July 1996, representatives of a Dar The study concluded that fry taken central north coast of Australia appearswin to based fishing company, attendedfrom the the pristine waters off northern Aus be virtually unexploited. It is just waitingAgri-Aqua Fair in Davao City, Philippines,tralia would be well accepted by Asian to be caught and utilized. HighlightsThey of found out that the most lucrativefarmers. spe In addition, mature milkfish Mounsey’s report: cies of fish covered at the fair was milkfish.herded into seawater enclosures and in Barramundi fisheries in Darwin, AusCompany representatives prior to theduced fair to spawn would produce similar tralia continuously catch large milkfishhad in little knowledge or interest in milkfish.high-grade marketable fry. their 150 to 175 mm mesh gill nets andHowever, after being informed by a NorthThe next stage of the project, which nearly all of them unrecorded and releasedern Territory Fisheries Officer that milkfishwas to transport and spawn milkfish in at sea since no viable market yet exist. are common along the northern territoryponds, has been put on hold due to the cur At a fish feeding site in the heart ofcoast they quickly set about undertakingrency an crisis gripping Indonesia, the Philip Darwin, wild milkfish along with mulletexploratory investigation into the milkfishpines and other Southeast Asian nations. are the dominant species fed on the highindustries of the Philippines and easternAlthough there has been considerable tide. It attracts thousands of tourists andIndonesia. A year long study found interestout the from Asian companies looking to locals each year. Each visitor can evensevere shortage of quality milkfish buy fry broodstock or large quantities of fry. hand-fed up to 1,000 wild milkfish throughout with Asia. Both the Philippinespresent and exchange rate makes business not stale bread. The fish are often a meter longIndonesia had severely reduced the viable wild at the moment. A wait-and-see and weight from 6 to 16 kilograms each.population of milkfish. approach is being adopted by the company.
The life cycle of milkfishhas been drawn up by SEAFDEC/AQD scientist Teodora Bagarinao who conducted extensive studies of milkfish biology and ecology in the '80s.
The milkfish life cycle poster, sized 83 x 61 cm, is available from AQD. Email
SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 3 June 1999 19