BJMP Male Dorm receives catfish as part of Circular Economy
By: Nonnette C. Bennett, photos courtesy of BJMP MD
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Baguio City Jail Male Dorm received 100 catfish shooters ranging from four to five inches from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) as part of the circular economy based on the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) program to eradicate biowastes last August 7, 2025.
Mr. Arnold M. Noces, Aquacultural Technologist of BFAR represented Ms. Judyline C. Toyoken, Aquaculturist II of the Finance and Administrative Section in the delivery of the catfish in partnership with Doc Brahman Agritech Services headed by Dr. Roland James Bayang, DVM, and the Rotary Club of Baguio North represented by Ms. Claire Aguila.
The catfish will be grown with the use of the BSF mature larvae that have been fed with biowastes from the kitchen of the BJMP Male Dorm. The first delivery of five grams of BSF eggs on July 5, 2025 was followed with a second delivery of 20 grams of eggs that have yielded more than 30 kilos of mature larvae and 20 kilos of pupa ready for hatching into BSF for mating.
The continuous feeding of larvae with biowastes will sustain the catfish that will be ready for harvest and sale or cooking for the BJMP MD consumption.
JCInsp John Wayland M. Lapon said that the BSF larvae has helped with the disposal of the biowastes, “the taste of the catfish will be evidence to the efficiency of the BSF.” “We are thankful for the project,” he said to Dr. Bayang, Noces, and Aguila.
Dr. Bayang noted that the completion of the circular economy with the use of the catfish proves that the biodegradable garbage is not a problem but an opportunity to solve it with the use of the BSF technology. The Catfish Farming Training is scheduled on August 22, 2025, for the BJMP personnel and the PDLs in charge of the BSF trays. “We will experiment with the BSF larvae as feed instead of the commercial ones that have extenders. The catfish will not need as much feeds because of the high protein content of the larvae.”
The catfish are fed three times a day, according to Dr. Bayang. Noces said that the behavior of the catfish should be observed in order not to over feed them.
The activity shows the last phase of the circular economy when garbage is transformed into food and becomes biowaste again to repeat the cycle or production.
