LUBAO, Pampanga — The P6-million fish landing facility for Barangay San Rafael Baruya opened Wednesday here with government and fisherfolk sectors hailing the project as a boost to local fishing sector.
The two-story facility was made possible through the program called Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation (Target). The facility included equipment and other units for operation.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) officials turned over the said facility to the local fisherfolk sector. The community fish landing center (CFLC) is a project of BFAR.
The said the project is expected to benefit fisherfolk in Lubao and Sasmuan as well as local markets which buy fish from the said towns.
The facility is expected to contain its own cold storage, fish processing center and other standard facilities for fishing and fish storage.
Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab said that the project is a great boost for the local fishing sector in Lubao. She added that such a facility will help in the sale of the best possible fish products from the town.
Lubao is one of the main producers of tilapia, alimango, and vannamei in Region III with an estimated 4,500 hectares of fishpond area.
Fisherfolk market their harvests and catch either in Sasmuan or Bataan. With the establishment of the CFLC in the area, transport costs and postharvest losses will be reduced with an expected increase in income.
The project is provided under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 which authorizes BFAR to establish post-harvest facilities for fishing communities consistent with the policy of providing support to subsistence fisheries, in the exercise of their rights to benefit from the country’s fisheries resources, especially in municipal waters.