FISH hatcheries will be established in Davao del Norte after former president Rodrigo Duterte signed on June 26, 2022 Republic Act (RA) No. 11777 and RA 11808
RA 11777 is an act establishing inland freshwater fish hatcheries in the municipalities of Carmen and Braulo E. Dujali in Davao del Norte, while RA 11808 establishes a multi-species marine hatchery in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos).
Elisa Pil, the officer-in-charge of the Fisheries Production and Support Services Division of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Davao Region, told SunStar Davao in an interview that the implementation of the new hatcheries is underway, starting with the feasibility studies.
Construction period of the hatcheries is targeted to begin next year, 2023, while the main feasibility study will be done by this year. Pil said the pre-feasibility study has already determined the location as viable.
The marine hatcheries in IGACOS have an estimated budget of P30 million while the freshwater hatcheries in Carmen and Dujali may cost less. Pil said freshwater hatcheries are usually cheaper than marine hatcheries.
The feasibility study will determine the actual cost of the projects.
Pil said the three hatcheries are multi-species, meaning they can cater to different types of fish but the main population would be Tilapia for the fresh-water hatcheries, and Bangus or Milkfish for the marine hatchery.
The hatcheries are part of the national government’s Legislated Hatcheries Program which aims to boost the production of the aquaculture industry of the country.
“Mag tulong ito sa pag improve ng fishery production natin through sa pag supply ng either Tilapia or Bangus (This will help improve our fishery production in the region through the supply of either Tilapia or Bangus),” Pil said.
“Ang legislated kasi, it will be managed and operated by the BFAR for two years para i-initiate ang operation then after that, i-turn over siya sa local government unit (LGU) (The legislated hatcheries will be operated by BFAR for two years to initiate its operations and once it is stable, it will be turned over to the LGU).”
The national BFAR, has allocated P635 million for the construction of the initial fisheries in 2021 while 37 hatcheries are expected to be completed by the end of 2022. ICM