DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN THE CULTURE OF THE 

 BANGOS, OR MILKFISH, IN ZAMBALES PROVINCE 



By Artemas L. Day 



(From the Department of Zoology, University of the Philippines, and the 



Section of Fisheries, Biological Laboratory, Bureau of Science, 



Manila, P. I.) 



There are a few marine animals that are cultivated to a great 

 extent and to great advantage in the Philippine Islands and that 

 yield much greater returns than would be obtained without 

 cultivation, and there are many others that might be cultivated 

 with great profit. Among the former are the window-pane 

 oyster (Placuna placenta) , the pearl oyster, and the edible oyster, 

 of which last there are three species in the Philippine Islands, 

 namely, Ostrea orientalis, 0. palmipes, and 0. pyxidata, and 

 various fishes, such as the catfishes, hito and candule, the carp 

 (Cyprinus carpio) recently introduced from Hongkong into the 

 Philippines, and the baiigos. Among those that might be cul- 

 tivated may be included sponges, mussels, crustaceans, various 

 button shells, and holothurians or commercial trepang. 



Among the cultivated fishes the one that receives the most 

 attention in the region around Manila Bay, as also in various 

 other places, is the baiigos, or milkfish, Chanos chanos Forskal. 

 It is cultivated also in a few other regions in the Islands, but 

 nowhere else as yet have very great returns been received. 

 There are still large areas both around Manila Bay and in many 

 other suitable regions where the culture has been scarcely started. 



The bangos are grown in tide ponds, where at the falling of 

 the tide the somewhat stale water is removed and at the rising 

 of the tide the supply of fresh water is replenished. These ponds 

 are supplied with latticed gates, that permit the passage of the 

 water without allowing the fish to escape, and also they are 

 supplied with water-tight gates that will retain the water if 

 desired. The ponds are built in mangrove ov other swamps along 

 the seashore or streams. In some of these sites little or no ex- 

 cavation is necessary, in others considerable excavation is neces- 

 sary in order to make a pond of the desired size. Also in the 

 northern portion of Manila Bay land is "made" by planting small 

 mangrove trees in rather shallow water. These trees hold the 

 sand and soil that is washed up among them. Large areas are 



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