Capiz bountiful seafood harvests rake in P1.2 B
Roxas City -- Capiz has produced approximately more than 25,000 metric tons of aqua marine products last year.
According to Aquaculturist Audie Belargo of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in Capiz, said aqua marine products were valued at about more than P1.2 billion.
Said marine products primarily produced by the province include milk fish (bangus), prawn, mud crab, oyster, mussel, seaweeds and grouper, Belargo said.
He added that last year, the province has an estimated milkfish production of 16,560 metric tons, equivalent to about P828 million.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap vowed to continue the efforts in sustaining the development and modernization of the Philippine fishery and aquaculture industry.
Yap said that the adoption of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center's (SEAFDEC) research and technology have significantly contributed to the transformation of the Philippines into one of the world's top producers of shrimps, seaweeds, bangus and tilapia, among other aquaculture and marine products.
He said that SEAFDEC has been carrying out several projects in tandem with the local government units and state universities.
In Capiz, said agency had been providing technical assistance to the provincial government here and the Capiz State University (CapSU) for the Collaborative Fisheries Development Project, Provincial Agriculturist Sylvia dela Cruz disclosed.
She revealed that said collaborative project is focused on the culture of grouper and mud crab, which are among the high-value aquamarine products of Capiz.
Recently, Yap has launched a five-year, P15-million program spearheaded by SEAFDEC and the DA's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research to reinvigorate the fledging abalone industry in the country and capture the highly lucrative global market for said export product.
(PIA/Jemin B. Guillermo)