Nutrient loading and efficiency of tilapia cage culture in Taal Lake, Philippines

Issue Date

4-2006

Abstract

Stakeholders of the Taal Lake fish cage industry face the challenge of producing fish in a situation of frequent fish kill occurrences, attributed to the deteriorating water quality owing to nutrient pollution from fish cages. This study explored the nature of the fish cage production in Taal Lake and the interdependencies of cage production inputs and output with nutrient enrichment in cage areas. Fifty operators in the municipalities of Agoncillo, Laurel, San Nicholas and Talisay were surveyed and the production data elicited were used in estimating a Cobb-Douglas production function. Results showed that ownership arrangement (i.e., owner as operator) and location (i.e., Laurel) were inversely related to tilapia yield. Marginal analysis revealed that operators were overutilizing stocking density relative to feeding ration. The marginal productivity of feeding ration and stocking density were less than the price ratios of inputs. In this regard, increasing these inputs is discouraged. Decreasing the intensity of cage production activities is recommended, specifically for the town of Laurel. With the current fish cage production technology and institutional setup, nutrient pollution is inevitable.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Agricultural Scientist

ISSN

317454

Volume

89

Issue

1

Page

48-57

Document Type

Article

Language

English

Subject

Externalities, Fish cage, Fish kill, Nutrient pollution, Taal Lake

Digital Copy

none

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS