MANILA, Philippines — Three years after fishermen complained of dwindling catch, Tayabas Bay now hosts schools of fish through a fish cage culture project pushed by the Department of Agriculture (DA.)

To arrest the depletion of marketable fish, DA launched a project entitled “The Culture of High-Value Finfishes in Cages in Sariaya, Quezon” five months ago through the Community-based Participatory Action Research Project (CPAR) of the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR.)

As a result of the project, BAR director Dr. Nicomedes Eleazar said, fishermen are now harvesting highly marketable fish including red tilapia, bangus, and grouper continue to swarm in fish cages of Barangay Bignay II in Sariaya.

The coast of Sariaya lies within Tayabas Bay, which is known as a spawning ground for various marine species but also the venue for overfishing and illegal fishing operations.

With climate change compounding the problem, fish catch declined noticeably beginning in 2008, forcing some fishermen to resort to the use dynamites or find other jobs.

Eleazar said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Regional Fisheries Research and Development Center (RFRDC) Region 4A were alarmed by the situation and sought to work on restoring the role of Tayabas Bay as a major fish producer.

With BAR support, these agencies tried to restore a sustainable supply of finfishes in the market by updating indigenous practices and merging it with developed technologies, including the use of fish cages.

Fish cage culture had been promoted by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in Tigbauan, Iloilo since 1976.

Among the finfishes cultured in cages in Sariaya are red tilapia, bangus, and grouper (lapu-lapu.)

Bangus and grouper were kept in bamboo fish pens while red tilapia were placed in a nearby pond on account of the differences in pH requirements.

RFRDC Region 4A manager Hannibal M. Chavez said the result of project has been excellent, adding that “Maganda ang growth performance ng mga isda” (“the growth performance of the fish is good.”)

Although weather interruptions and typhoons affected water quality and slightly stunted the growth of the finfish species, Chavez and the Barangay Bignay II cooperators pushed on and the cultured fish expanded.

“Hindi mo talaga ma-control ang environmental factors. Pero shempre gagawan mo ng paraan” (“You really cannot control environmental factors. But of course, you’ll find a way,”) he said.

Eleazar said while the project is relatively new, fish-farming culture has been accepted by the fisherfolk, who now maintain the fish in pens and ponds and have been trained on implementation techniques.

"While there may be minor problems in stabilizing the production of red tilapia, bangus and grouper in the province, the community continues to push on to discover more ways in which they can overcome the challenges presented to them," he added.

Eleazar believes Sariaya, Quezon may eventually become one of the top finfish suppliers in the country.