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James Reports August 22, 2009

FISH PEN CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED

yeaaaaaaaaa-- We now have our own pump boat. Up until now we had been borrowing Entings boat to get back and forth to the fish cage. Nikki and papa found this used yellow banca and were able to make a deal to buy it. It has a 6.5 horsepower engine to power it, but can also be paddled. This completes another phase of the fish business. Nikki and papa have also been trying to find a hut to attach to the cages like the ones in the above picture with our banca. A hut is used mostly to store feed and materials for the cages but is also fitted with a hammock bed. I suspect I will find my self spending many nights at the hut on the water. After all I was living on a house boat for the last 10 years and I miss living on the water. I love the motion caused by the water and the cool breeze from the sea.
Here the guys are finishing two more cages. They should be moving the cages and attaching them to the first cage within the next few days. As you can see in this picture of our workers taking a work-break at our first cage, our first fish are now about the length of a hand. When they were put in the cage they were much smaller. I am surprised at their rapid growth. At 4 months age most will be around one pound and ready for market. Nikki said the price was down a little right now for fish (to about 85 - 90 cents per kilo) but anything over 70 to 75 cent should yield a good profit. We expect the price to be above 95 cents when the fish are ready for harvest. It is typical that the price be down at this time of year but is also typical that price rises again closer to Christmas.
This plant was Nikki's birthday present for 2008. We bought it at the Founders Day Festival in Digos a few days before her birthday. At the time of purchase it was much larger and kind of ugly because it had not been trimed and shaped very well. Nikki saw that it had promise and she with her mama have done a super job on it. It is smaller now but has a better shape and looks much nicer. Mama seems to love plants and really has a green thumb. I sometimes think she could make plastic plants grow.
Nikki's aunt's fish being removed for sale at 4 months.
Cement weight being carried to the site to anchor the new pens.
New pens at our newly approved site -- Note the boat on the left is ours with Nikki and papa. Our assigned area is closer to the bay inlet, where the water is more open but not as polluted as the more protected areas have become deeper within the bay.
Tying it all together.





New fish pen completed -- ready for more fish soon
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