By PR | 04:14 PM June 09, 2021
The Bohol Provincial Fishery Office (PFO) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 7 has taken initiatives to assist the milkfish or “bangus” producers in the province – a move that is seen to expand the sector and augment Bohol’s food sufficiency measures.
The Bohol PFO gave out 5,500 bangus fingerlings on Monday, June 7, to Marianasan Seaweed Grower and Fisherfolk Association from Getafe town to support its marine floating fish cage project that was earlier granted to the group through the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program.
Through this program that provides livelihood interventions to marginalized fisherfolk, the association may generate revenue after the fingerlings would reach their marketable size.
In fact, there have been two fisherfolk groups that recently yielded good harvest and profited from the BFAR-aided bangus projects.
The Bohol PFO actually continues to monitor the status of these livelihood projects and check their progress.
For one, the Popoo Mag-uuma / Mananagat Association from President Carlos P. Garcia town earned P57,500 from its recent harvest.
The association, which has 73 members, harvested on June 3 about 500 kilograms of bangus that is cultured in a marine floating fish cage.
The harvested bangus was sold at an affordable price between Php110 and Php120 per kilogram.
Another fishers’ group, the 29-member Matabao Fishermen Association from Tubigon town harvested around 1,210 kilograms of bangus from its floating fish cage.
The association logged a total sales of Php118,835 from two separate harvests on June 4 and 5. Market price ranged between Php70 and Php120 depending on the size of the bangus.
To recall, the establishment of these two floating fish cages was funded by the bureau through its Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation (TARGET) program.
In another development, the Bohol PFO forged an agreement with the Bohol Provincial Government and the Bohol Island State University (Clarin and Calape campuses) for the operation of small-scale bangus hatchery.
The signing of the Memorandum of Agreement transpired on June 7 at the Bohol PFO building.
This project aims to support bangus producers in the province by ensuring the availability of quality bangus fingerlings that would cater fish farm owners and operators, including from the private sector. with reports from Candido Samijon, Bohol PFO Head and Ana Liza Anib-Casquejo, Bohol PFO Information Officer