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POTOTAN, ILOILO – A research facility on integrated fisheries is now fully operational, and is expected to support improved aquaculture yields, advance breeding and stock enhancement programs, and provide technical resources directly accessible to small scale fisherfolk.
Regional Director Remia A. Aparri has said that the Tirso Jamandre Jr. Memorial Integrated Fisheries Research Center forms part of the answer to the needs of fisherfolks in the area.
“The fishing communities of Western Visayas are waiting for answers, for better fingerlings, for disease-resistant species, for sustainable practices that will allow them to feed their families for generations to come. This Center must become the place where those answers are found,” the BFAR Region 6 Director said.
The 32,435 square-meter facility houses research pond units, each measuring 104 square meters.
These will serve as laboratories for aquaculture research, species development, and the generation of practical, science-based solutions for the fishing communities and the broader Western Visayas Region.
In addition, the fisheries bureau has inaugurated last week a new dormitory building at the research center. The dedication ceremony was held in partnership with the West Visayan Conference of Seventh-day Adventist.
The land on which the center stands was a donation by the Heirs of Tirso Jamandre Jr. to the government agency in 1999. Hence, the center’s name was made in recognition of the donor.
On one hand, the bureau has convened on May 10, in Iloilo City, to discuss solutions to problems of fisherfolks amid the ongoing fuel crisis.
Among the topics discussed was the implementation of the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFFP) for the municipal, commercial, and aquaculture sub-sectors.
The program is funded P10-billion and is designed to support small-scale farmers and fisherfolk cope-up with the crisis.
Sources: Facebook (1), Facebook (2)
