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By Jorge Pedro P. Villanea
MERCEDES, Camarines Norte: It has been a long way from a hatchery in
India to a shrimp farm in Bicol, but the venture has bred a fortune
for Jaime Borile.
Drawing on his extensive knowledge on shrimp fry
hatchery operation gained from experiences in Bataan, Quezon and
Zambales, as well as in a Japanese hatchery farm in India, Borile
ventured finally into the business.
In the 1970s, the shrimp industry in Bicol was
still at its infancy. Two decades later, several hatchery
establishments emerged in the province of Camarines Norte.
Distance was not a constraint for buyers from
Metro Manila because they were assured of quality fry that is
comparable to those from Panay.
In 2002, Borile joined the band of prawn fry
producers with a P700,000 capitalization. He registered his business
as JIMBO Prawn Fry Hatchery in April 2003 as a sole proprietorship.
His wife, the former Lorna Lee, a graduate of
the Bicol University College of Fisheries, assists in the operation
of the hatchery in San Roque, Mercedes, Camarines Norte.
By word of mouth, JIMBO became a name in the
shrimp/prawn industry. Orders from the Manila Bay area alone reached
15 million per cycle. Jimbo’s existing 12-million production
cannot adequately serve buyers from the Bicol region, Manila Bay
area and other walk-in clients.
Salinity and control of temperature within the
hatching tanks were the main production constraints. For 45 days,
the temperature has to be controlled and continuously maintained at
30 degrees Centigrade.
To overcome this technical and production
constraints, JIMBO acquired equipment to control and maintain the
necessary parameters for optimum fry production.
These include a portable heating system which
will ensure constant temperature within the hatching tanks; a
salinometer, to monitor salinity of water in each tank; electric
motor; and one unit generator set.
The equipment ensured a controlled temperature
within the hatching tanks resulting to increased production from
9-million to 14-million fry, equivalent to a 55-percent increase.
Income rose from P900,000 to P1,140,000 or a
26.66-percent increase.
JIMBO was also able to provide additional
employment for 22 part-time workers in addition to the existing
seven regular workers, 50 mother prawn suppliers and 650 hatchery
and fish pond operators and workers.
With the increase in production, JIMBO was able
to supply not only the Manila Bay area and the Bicol region but also
hatchery and fishpond operators in Bataan, Batangas, Pangasinan,
Quezon and Zambales.
An electric generator set was a great help in
the hatchery operation. JIMBO was able to continue its operation
even after Typhoon Yoyong struck in December 2004 when the
municipality of Mercedes had no power supply for almost a month.
While other hatcheries suffered losses, JIMBO gained a net income of
P500,000.
JIMBO’s assets now include a 2-hectare lot, a
building worth P2 million, equipment amounting to P1 million and a
working capital of P 900,000 for fry production and P 2 million for
shrimp production.
The local markets for prawn fry are Bulacan,
Pampanga, Sorsogon, Albay and Mindoro and local hatcheries as market
for nauplii are Bataan, Batangas, Zambales and Pangasinan.
Production for the local market has reached
10.5-million fry and 1 billion shrimps, with corresponding gross
sales of P1 million and P1.2 million, respectively.
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