Impacts of Climate Change on Economic Performance of Tilapia Pond Operations in Minalin, Pampanga: A Case of Intensive Large-Scale Pond Culture

Pampanga is the top tilapia-producing province in Philippines. One of its municipalities, Minalin, is considered as one of its major centers of production. This study aims to determine the impacts of climate change hazards on the economic performance of tilapia-intensive pond culture in Minalin, Pampanga considering the threats to the industry, livelihoods, and food security. Results revealed that the economic performance of tilapia pond operations using semi-intensive large-scale culture was affected by climate change, as reflected in the reduction of yield among tilapia pond operators. This makes intensive tilapia pond farming in Minalin still a viable venture but will now require more than a year to pay for investment (variable and fixed) costs if under climate change risks. The study recommends strengthening capacity building related to climate-smart tilapia farming technologies for pond operators and to implement appropriate technologies to address climate change risks.

A Comparative Study of Intensive Litopenaeus vannamei Culture on Four Bottom Substrates Without Water Change

The effect of four bottom substrates, oyster shell powder(OP), sugarcane bagasse(SB), a mixture of OP and SB(OS) and fresh soil(FS), on the water quality and bacterial and zooplankton density of intensive shrimp(Litopenaeus vannamei) culture tanks without water change and the growth performance of cultured shrimp were compared in this study. At the end of a 110 days culturing trial, the total ammonium-N(TAN) of the water on SB and the nitrite nitrogen(NO2-N) on OS was significantly lower than that on the other substrates(P<0.05), which coincided with the high density of ammonium- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in the water on SB and OS, respectively. The concentration of chlorophyll a(Chl a) increased slowly on OP, SB and OS but remained low on FS. The density of total bacteria on OP, SB and OS was one order of magnitude higher than that on FS, and the density of zooplankton on SB and OS was significantly higher than that on FS or OP(P<0.05). The improved water quality and increased density of bacteria and zooplankton on SB and OS may have had a synergistic effect on shrimp culture, improving its growth performance(high survival rate and yield and low feed conversion rate). SB and OS were more effective for improving the growth performance of intensively cultured L. vannamei without water change than OP and FS. To our knowledge, this study presents the first evidence regarding the effect of different bottom substrates on intensive shrimp culture.

Performance of Brooders,Fry and Growth of the Nile Tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus)Cultured in an Experimental Recirculating Aquaculture System

We present results of a long-term study aimed to optimize Nile tilapia O. niloticus production in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in México City. Three experiments were evaluated: 1) fry production;2) production of masculinized fries;and 3) assessment of growth under three different densities (10, 30 and 75 fish/m3). The broodstock produced on average 2400 ± 600 fry every 15 days during six months, with a total production of 28,800 ± 2000. One hundred percent males were produced in 274-L raceways in an eight-week period. The obtained results in fish production in the RAS system indicated variations related to density. A daily growth rate of 3.6 g/day was registered with a density of 10 fish/m3, 0.9 g/day in 30 fish/m3 and 0.4 g/day in 75 fish/m3. This information could be useful for production purposes in this type of systems.