BACOLOD City – The local government of Sagay City in Negros Occidental has launched a breeding program for a rare breed of lobster.
The project, led by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), aims to help replenish local stocks of lobster on the island.
The two varieties being bred at the Sagay Marine Reserve are the Tiger Lobster (Panulirus ornatus), considered the most premium and with the highest quality breed, and the Bamboo Lobster (Panulirus versicolor). Both are varieties of the spiny lobster.
CENRO head Antonio Cueva said the innovation shows the city government’s pursuit of environmental sustainability while helping the local economy.
As of Monday, Jan. 1, CENRO has already released three female and two male spawns of bamboo lobster breeders, each weighing 1.7 kilograms, as well as two female and a male tiger lobster breeder spawns, with a weight of two kilograms each.
The lobster breeders were placed in an open-type cage system submerged at sea, which allowed them to have a conducive environment for spawning while maintaining their natural habitat.
Cueva said they are currently observing the survival rate of the released lobster eggs and are hopeful for the project’s success in the long run.
“As for every 50,000 eggs during the post-larval stage, only about two lobsters are expected to survive to legal size,” Cueva said. (Watchmen Daily Journal, with a report from PNA)/PN
