BFAR facilities to ensure sustainable development of fisheries sector in Palawan

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Jan. 31 (PIA) -- The five-hectare Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) – Inland Sea Ranching Project (ISRP) in Sta. Lucia Environmental Estate will ensure the sustainable development and management of fishery and aquatic resources not only in the city but also the rest of the province.

Three new facilities in the BFAR-ISRP project site was inaugurated recently by Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala and City Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn in simple ceremonies for projects that would largely increase competitiveness of the aquaculture industry in Palawan.

The projects inaugurated are the P5-million Fishpond Development Project, the P1.9-million Seaweed Tissue Laboratory, and the P4.9-million Multi-Species Marine Fish Hatchery Project.

The fishpond project has a four-hectare production area which will produce good quality fingerlings of groupers, snappers, milkfish and sea bass.

The Seaweed Tissue Laboratory will produce seaweed tissue to address productivity declines of seaweed farms by rehabilitating planting materials in the laboratory through branch and spore cultures and micro-propagation. It will also preserve the genetic material of Palawan’s seaweeds.

The production of the hatchery project will provide the requirements for fry and fingerlings of the fish cages and other mariculture projects in Palawan.

The BFAR-ISRP is a public-private partnership with the city government and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC). In this tripartite partnership, the city government provided BFAR the project site of five-hectare property in the Sta. Lucia Environmental Estate while SEAFDEC provided technical assistance particularly in the design of the fishpond project.

By Victoria Asuncion S. Mendoza (LBR/VSM/PIA-Palawan)