THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Cordillera Administrative Region (BFAR-CAR) has intensified efforts for the implementation of the National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk Registration (FishR) in the region.
Dr. Lilibeth Signey, BFAR-CAR Regional director, said regional staff are mobilized in the provinces to assist municipal extension workers in the processing of registrant fisherfolk.
With reports from the provinces of the slow turnout of registration, Signey reiterated the need to fast-track the registration process so that all Cordillera fisherfolk be included in the national database.
It was noted the slow turnout of enrollees was due primarily to the absence of internet connections especially in remote areas giving aquacultural technicians and municipal staff a hard time encoding.
The FishR is a national program for municipal fisherfolk registration, which aims to enlist all fisherfolk in the country as required under Republic Act 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998. The information will help the national government establish a Comprehensive Fishery Information System and will serve as basis for providing technical or economic assistance and other programs.
The FishR likewise solicits the support of all municipalities and cities, which have bodies of water, lakes, rivers and other forms and synchronize their systems being used in their registration procedures and in conformity to the simplest system of the FishR.
The FishR in CAR was launched in October last year together with Region I.
The implementation of the FishR is a big help for local fisherfolk in availing projects and assistance from the bureau. It was likewise learned that fisherfolk registered will have easy access to fisheries latest breakthroughs and information needed by them shall be available. (Alice Tabuno)