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Monday, September 05, 2005
P5M set aside for fish shelters
IN A bid to restore Sarangani Bay's fishery productivity through traditional means, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has released some P5 million to fund the setting up of additional fish shelters, commonly known as payao's, along its waters.
Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez said the fish shelter project is part of the government's continuing efforts enhance tuna catches and restore the country's traditional tuna fishery areas.
Dominguez, representing the provincial government Sarangani, signed a project contract last week with the DA's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
The governor said the project, which is under DA's Tuna Productivity Enhancement Program, involves the construction of at least 50 man-made payaos or fish aggregating devices.
Payaos, which are structures moored in the sea with the primary function of attracting pelagic fish for capture, would be set up in the waters of Sarangani Bay, a known sanctuary of various marine species.
Sarangani Bay and the nearby waters are known sanctuaries and spawning grounds of various pelagic fish, mainly tuna and tuna-like species, such as skipjack, frigate tuna, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore, and eastern little tuna as well as the small pelagics such as round scads, sardines, anchovies and mackerels.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban said BFAR would provide full technical and administrative support to local fishery-based organizations and cooperatives that would be tapped in setting up the payao's.
BFAR, an attached agency of the DA, is the lead agency responsible for the transfer of technology to the fisher folks to increase production and lower production costs at the same time generate jobs in the countryside, he said.
"The fish shelter project will be established for managing fishery areas in the province to discourage the catching of juvenile fishes by the use of fine meshed nets and encouraging the practice of environment-friendly fishing, like the hook and line fishing techniques," Panganiban said.
He said BFAR would encourage fisher folks and small-scale tuna handline fishing boat operators in the area to form associations or federations to enhance the promotion of the use of traditional fishing techniques.
Panganiban said the project is in line with the government's "shift to high gear" towards the development of the fishery industry in Mindanao in a move to strengthen the country's food security program.
He added that Mindanao is a potential region in the country that needs more attention for the development of its agriculture and fisheries programs to facilitate countryside development. (Allen V. Estabillo)
(September 5, 2005 issue)
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