Open AccessA STUDY TO DETERMINE THE SPAWNING GROUNDS OF MILKFISH AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT INFLUENCE FRY ABUNDANCE AND COLLECTION ALONG THE ANTIQUE COAST OF PANAY ISLAND, PHILIPPINES 1 /
Author(s) -
Schmittou H. R.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
proceedings of the annual meeting ‐ world mariculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0164-0399
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1977.tb00109.x
Subject(s) - milkfish , fishery , geography , abundance (ecology) , antique , aquaculture , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , archaeology
The most serious problem affecting the milkfish (Chanos chanos (Forskal)) farming industry throughout its range (Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan) is inadequate supply of fry. For example, the requirement for milkfish fry in the Philippines in 1974 was approximately 875 million, but the supply was less that one‐half the demand. Demands for fry are expected to continue to increase. Milkfish have never been artificially reproduced, and milkfish farmers depend entirely on fry captured from coastal waters for their stock. The objectives of this study were to determine the environmental conditions influencing milkfish fry abundance and capture and to determine the location of the spawning grounds of milkfish that supply the fry collected along the Antique coast of Panay Island, Philippines. Some environmental factors influencing milkfish fry abundance and capture are reported. Conclusions were: 1) milkfish fry collected along the coast are spawned far from the collecting grounds, 2) surface oceans currents transport the fry from the spawning grounds to the Antique coast, and are responsible for the seasonality of milkfish fry there.