PEN CULTURE (ENCLOSURE CULTURE) AS AN

AQUACULTURE SYSTEM

Introduction

 Pen culture is defined as raising of fish in a volume

of water enclosed on all sides except bottom,

permitting the free circulation of water at least from
one side. This system can be considered a hybrid
between pond culture and cage culture.
 In a fish pen, the bottom of the lake forms the
bottom of the pen
 A Pen is defined as “a fixed enclosure in which the
bottom is the bed of the water body”
 Pen culture is possible only in the three zones, namely,
intertidal, sublittoral and seabed -all having natural
bottom as the limit of the lower side of the enclosure.
 Largely the enclosure of a pen is restricted to shallow
area adjacent to the shore.
 Penculture is also followed in freshwater systems.

Pen culture of Milkfish in Philippines:

 The pen culture of milkfish (Chanos chanos) is the most
important fresh water pen culture in the world.
 It began in 1968 as an experimental venture of the
Philippine Bureau of fisheries and Aquatic resources in
the fresh water lake, Laguna de Bay.
 In 1970 the Laguna Lake Development Authority
introduced a 40 hectare pilot commercial scale fish pen
project and demonstrated that yield per hectare in the
pens was 4 – 10 times higher than the natural production
of the lake
 In two years private operators cultivated 200ha of
Laguna Bay under pen and by 1973 the expanded 993
pens extending over 5,000ha.
 Pen sizes vary from 1 to 100 hactares depending on the
resources and interest of the operator, the majority
being of 10 – 50 hectares.
 The pens are made using the locally abundant bamboo
poles forming split bamboo screens (Pongkol). Depth of
water in pens average 1.5m.
 The pen culture of milkfish has yielded production of
about 4,000kg/ha (average), without supplementary
feeding.
 Total milkfish production from fish pen in 1975 was
25,000 tons.
 The pen culture in was about 3,000ha and the yield
about 16,000 tons annually
 The Laguna Lake Development Authority has claimed
that the lake fish pen industry can grow to 15,000
hectares, and a yield projection of 80,000 tons annually.

 Pen culture in Africa:

 Successful pen culture operations exist now in Ivory
Coast and in Benin Republic.
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Pen Culture:
 Pens are much larger and are stationery as their walls are
fixed.
 Organisms have interaction with the natural bottom
 The space is intensively used
 4-10 times Higher production than the natural
production
 Safety from predators:
 Suitability for culturing many varied species
 Ease of harvest: Even though in the large pens the
harvest may not be aseasy as in the cages, it would be
definitely more controllable and easier than in the
natural waters.
 The flexibility of size and economy:
 Availability of natural food and exchange of materials
with the bottom:
 Pen culture is economical multiple use of same water
body (e.g. pen culture in an irrigation reservoir)
 Disadvantages:
 High demand of oxygen and water flow:  Since the fish
cultured are stocked in high density they deplete oxygen
very fast and a good flow of water through the pen
either by natural means or artificially by pumping is
demanded for healthy and fast growing fishes.
 Dependence on artificial feed : Since high density
(biomass) is to be sustained in a restricted area, for high
production artificial feeding is necessary, increasing the
cost of production.
 Food losses: Part of the feed is likely to be lost uneaten,
and drifted away in the current, but the loss here would
be less than in floating cages.
 Pollution: Since a large biomass of fish are cultured
intensively a large quantity of excrements accumulate in
the area and cause a high POD - also substances such as
ammonia and other excreted materials, if not
immediately removed/ recycled. They pollute the water
and cause damages.
 Rapid spread of diseases: For the same reason of high
stocking density in an enclosed area, any disease
beginning will spread very quickly and can cause
immense mortality of stock and production decline.
 Risk of theft: Since the fish are kept in an enclosed area,
‘poaching’ and thefts can take place more frequently
than in natural waters, but perhaps less than those from
cages.
 Conflict with multiple use of natural waters : In locations
where a pen is constructed to the requirement of higher
water level for eg. in a lake/reservoir, would be against
the interest, for eg. for irrigation water supply;
enclosures can interfere with navigational routes and
also with recreational activities, such as swimming,
boating etc.