Tuna Ranching A Possibility
He is Dr. Bonifacio Comandante of Dumaguete City whose technology could put fish (such as lapu-lapu, seabass and also vannamei and tiger prawns) to sleep while in transit and then awakened upon reaching their destination.
His prize-winning technology adds tremendous value to the marine products because live fish and prawns command much higher prices than the dead ones. ‘ For instance, live vannamei will often retail at P600 per kilo while the dead counterpart may only fetch half the price. The same could be true with lapu-lapu and other species.
Dr. Comandante is very much interested in sea ranching tuna because this could be exported to Japan at a very great advantage. As everyone knows, the Japanese are the number one importers of fresh tuna, and they are willing to pay a premium price for high-quality fish.
Comandante says that he only knows of a company in the Mediterranean which is ranching the bluefin tuna. Nobody is doing that in the Philippines but he believes it can be done. In fact he is now conducting some experiments in collaboration with a fishing company which had so far captured 24 pieces of juvenile tuna (weighing 10 to 20 kilos) as of last October 26. These could be cultured in high-tech cages so they can be grown to 40-kilo sizes.
And what will that mean? If they can be harvested live and transported live to Japan, the value of the fish would be so much more. The tuna grown in cages will have better quality meat and will command a higher price in Japan. More meat will also be sashimi grade. Comandante explains that only 15 percent of the meat of the tuna landed in General Santos, for instance, is sashimi grade which fetches P280 per kilo. The rest is canning grade which fetches P80 to P120 per kilo.
In the case of the fish-cage-cultured tuna, all the meat will be sashimi grade. especially when landed live in Japan.
In the Mediterranean project, Comandante says, the bluefin tuna is cultured for 6 to 7 months to attain 35 to 40 kilos each. The fish are given rations rich in vitamins C and E so that the meat have excellent color and the oil is of high quality.
