FINFISH HATCHERY
                     FINFISH 
HATCHERY
Introductio
n
 In the 1990s a Philippine conglomerate 
with an agribusiness division had a 
contract growing shrimp for a 
multinational partner. The contract, 
however, did not meet expectations and 
the shrimp farming enterprise came to an 
end.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 2
Process
 Since the facility was already there the 
next move was to convert the 28 hectares 
of ponds previously used for growing 
shrimp into ponds for milkfish culture.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 3
High 
Demand
 Locally known as bangus (Chanos chanos), 
milkfish is the national fish and loved by 
Filipinos everywhere, who cook it in every 
possible way: fried, smoked, steamed, 
stewed, baked, grilled, boiled or 
smothered in rich sauces. Needless to 
stress, the demand is always high.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 4
Golden 
eggs
 To sustain the growth a large and steady 
supply of fry and fingerlings was required. 
 At that time, supply was sourced from the 
wild, which was erratic and seasonal. 
Imported fry from Taiwan was an option 
but were deemed “expensive and 
impractical.”
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 5
Finfish 
Hatcheries
 Rather than continuing to view the 
situation as a problem, the conglomerate 
saw this as an opportunity. Finfish 
Hatcheries Inc. (FHI) was established in 
1996 as part of the Alcantara Group (AG)’s 
agri-business unit.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 6
Local 
Technology
  It was launched using local technology 
and the “best 60 milkfish breeders 
available.” Unfortunately, they didn’t 
produce the golden eggs; 30% of the 
fingerlings were defective, with many 
being blind.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 7
Breeders
 Seven hundred breeders, with 1:1 female 
to male ratio, are stocked per half-hectare 
ponds, which yield two to three kilos of 
eggs every day. 
 One kilo consists of 750,000 eggs. The 
hatchery’s 12,000 milkfish breeders are 
the largest stockpile in the Philippines.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 8
High survival 
rates
 The ponds are constantly aerated to allow 
eggs to float on the surface.
 The harvested eggs are relocated to the 
hatchery and fed algae and rotifers. They 
are then brought to growout ponds.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 9
Importance of 
hatchery 
management 
 The importance of captive breeding and 
hatchery management assumes greater 
significance in increasing the freshwater 
finfish production.
SOURCE: WWW.HATCHERYINTERNATIONAL.COM 10
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