CABADBARAN CITY — The Kauswagan Fisherfolk Association earned Php 1.062 million gross income from its first major harvest, producing 6.6 metric tons of bangus from a 10-meter Norwegian high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cage at the Cabadbaran Mariculture Park on Thursday, January 22.

With an investment cost of Php1.8 million funded under the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) Project, the milkfish production activity forms part of the project’s Modern and Resilient Livelihood Investment (MARLIN) 2.1 component, which aims to promote improved aquaculture practices and infrastructure to enhance productivity and resilience in fishing communities.

Operations began on August 28, 2025, with the stocking of 15,000 bangus fingerlings. Despite being organized only in 2024, the association successfully adopted the HPDE cage technology for large-scale production, achieving an average harvest size of two fish per kilogram.

The harvested bangus was marketed in Surigao City, providing a direct source of income for association members while contributing to the region’s fish supply and reinforcing mariculture as a viable fisheries intervention for local fishing communities.