Oyster Culture through Hanging Method: An Alternative Source of Livelihood

Abstract

The Philippines is very rich in soft-bodied, hardshelled animals, known as mollusks. They occur in coastal-, fresh-, and estuarine waters and in local ponds and gardens. It has been estimated that there are at least 20,000 species of the animal in the country excluding those that are still unknown and unidentified (de los Santos, 1988). One mollusk that is easily formed is the oyster or the commonly called "tirem" in Iloko or "talaba" in Filipino. These mollusks, Crassostrea sp. are found throughout the tropics and subtropics and are commonly harvested from the wild population. The need for increasing aquaculture products is becoming a necessity as they are popular for food and profit. Oysters in particularwere found out to be no ordinary food and they are even considered rare delicacy in Europe, Britain, and Ireland and they are good source of calcium, zinc, protein, and some vitamins required by the human body (Goltsoff, 1964). In these years of rapid increasing population but more slowly increasing food resources, it is necessary that any existing or potential resources be appraised. From the study of Angell in 1986, the expansion of oyster culture has been hindered by limited awareness of its potential among fishery development promoters and the need for more widespread dissemination of information on the technology of culture processing and marketing. However many handbooks and manuals are published for the promotion ofthe positive aspects ofoyster to tum more people into its farming and the economic importance of this industry (Fish Farming International, 1995). In the country, oyster culture and its commercial production is concentrated in Cavite, Malabon, MetroManila, and in some municipalities of Pangasinan, to name some of the very few places engaged in such industry. And despite the presence of suitable habitats here in Ilocos Sur, commercial production of oyster is still insignificant.