Mariculture Dev't Project seen to create jobs, livelihood opportunities
The government is pushing the production and culture of high-value fish species under the mariculture development project.
The project is in line with President Arroyo's super regions concept to equally distribute the fruits of economic reforms to the countryside particularly in the less developed areas.
The Malacañang press report disclosed that the government will soon establish a "mariculture highway" as soon as mariculture parks all over the country can already produce enough volume of high-value aquaculture products such as fish, crab, shrimp, sea cucumber, abalone and seaweed.
Accordingly, there are now 31 mariculture parks established in the country.
Director Malcolm Sarmiento of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said that this highly-marketable and huge volume of cultured marine species would then attract buyers who will collect them in mariculture parks using the Strong Republic Nautical Highway en route to local and export markets.
BFAR is envisioning a network of mariculture parks in both the western and eastern corridors of the country as trading post for culture high-value fish and other marine species for both local and international markets. (PIA/T.Villavert)