Native ‘Hito’ Driven To Visual Extinction

by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur – The native hito can barely, if ever, be found.

Years of pesticides use in rice fields has driven what used to be a popular dish into what is feared its virtual extinction – at least hereabouts.

"I am breeding back the native hito," says Teodoro Cruz, the enterprising fish farmer behind Golden Fish Farm in Bgy. Inawayan in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

"And I am crossing it with several kinds of hito, the product of which I hope to patent somedy," he discloses.

Three kinds of hito are raised in the country: the native variety (Clarias macroephalus), the Taiwan or Thai hito (C. batrachus) and the African one (C. gariepinus).

The African variety is the most commercially viable, explains Cruz, because it is three times bigger than its native cousin.

Here, it is sold live, kept by vendors in aquariums displayed along busy roads. More than a dozen restaurants specialize in different recipes for African hito, among them crispy breaded hito and the kare-kare with a twist: cooked in coconut milk, curry and red hot chili peppers.

The African variety is highly recommended because it is readily sold in markets and restaurants, Cruz says.

He knows of what he speaks. The Golden Fish Farm is a full-time research and development hito hatchery. It is a major supplier of African hito, tilapia and carp finger-lings to fish farms in Sirawan, General Santos City; Sulop, Davao del Sur; and Davao del Norte.

The fish farm-located six kilometers away from the Davao Fish Port in Toril, Davao City – also produces selected varieties of hito, tilapia, carp, paco, goldfish and other fresh-water aquarium fishes.

Golden fish farm is now processing deboned hito fillet. "These are hito ready for cooking," Cruz explains." We intend to make the farm a processing plant for deboned hito and tilapia and make it a center for deboned bangus after training personnel for the livelihood."

"I accept only trainees that pass my standards," he says. "Among other things, they must know how to measure a fish pond, how much water is there and so on. Then they can undergo training."

"I wish the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will conduct such on-site trainings to augment my production and research expenses," Cruz adds.

Again, he knows what he is talking about, having had a fruitful experience with the country’s premier science body. The Golden Fish Farm facility used for training was established with DOST assistance.

Today, training semi-nars include extraction of eggs from female and testes from male hito, injection of hormones into female hito, and harvesting and pond management – all to increase production.

The training seminars are only a fraction of what Cruz does best – run a highly efficient hatchery and earning what he calls "handsomely" in the process.

His farm is so successful that it mass produces hito and tilapia, supplying supermarket chains in Davao City. "Both hito and tilapia are in demand in this part of the country," he explains.

Previously, his fishpond facilities were not very successful. In 1990, when he heard about the DOST’s Science and Technology Program for Mindanao that empowers small and medium enterprises through financial assistance, he immediately went for it and applied for one.

Through the program, DOST Region 11 assisted Cruz to build concrete ponds and water canals. He acquired quality breeders over a period of six years.

Since then, Cruz invested in other breeders such as different varieties of hito, freshwater prawns, bangus, and other imported fishes such as the highly priced koi (an aquarium fish) and paco (a plant-eating relative of the piranha which feeds on kangkong).

He also purchased breeders from Cotabato, Bacolod City, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, and Pangasinan.

"Hatchery engineering is necessary to improve production of marine and brackish water fish," Cruz points out. "Developing the facility would further improve hatchery management practices."

Resource management is his expertise – Cruz is an agriculture graduate of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, specializing in soils and agricultural engineering.

A native of Pangasinan, he came to Mindanao in 1960 to work for an agricultural firm. In 1962, he established the Kabukiran Agricultural Enterprises in Davao City for his wife Salud, who is a chemist.

Today, because of the DOST seed money, Cruz is into contract-growing. He sells 1,000 to 1,500 fingerlings of hito to fish farmers. Four months later, he buys their produce.

"I buy the live hito at P80 per kilo and sell them in Davao at P90," he says, adding, the aim is to evaluate the performance of the fingerlings by assisting farmers in harvesting and marketing.

"What we are doing is to keep on studying," Cruz explains.

And so he does. One of his current projects is to develop organic pesticides to reduce infestations of brackish and freshwater snails. So far, without success; "it needs further studies," he explains.

But Cruz is optimistic about a natural and chemical free fungicide that prevents fungi attacks on fingerlings. "We have tested two varieties of tubli," he says.

Tubli roots yield a toxic substance called rotenone that has been used for more than 40 years as an insecticide. This time, Cruz feels he has a winner. /MP