Fisheries bureau opens 3 fish-landing centers in Panay

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region 6 (Western Visayas inaugurated three fish-landing centers, costing P2.85 million each, in strategic areas in the coastal communities of Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo provinces. 

The establishment of community fish landing centers (CFLCs) is under the bureau’s umbrella program called Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation (Target) in the fisheries sector.

The program is a multiagency partnership between the Department of Agriculture and BFAR, in close coordination with the local government unit (LGU), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).

The CFLCs will serve as hubs for economic activities; community centers for fish trade; and venues for skills training and community organization. Upon their completion, the CFLCs are expected to improve local buyers’ and/ or consumers’ access to safe and high-quality fish and fish-related products.

In Region 6, BFAR aims to have 52 CFLCs established region-wide with an allocated budget of P48.45 million for 17 project sites in 2015 and an additional of 34 project sites in 2016 with a cost allocation of P102 million.

BFAR Region 6, through the Provincial Fisheries Office of Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo, in partnership with the concerned LGUs, organized the inauguration ceremony of the first CFLC in each province last June and August and this September, respectively.

“This facility will serve as a venue for economic activity and complement the ecotourism program of the municipality, on which it can create employment and other livelihood for the locals,” said BFAR Region 6 Director Remia Aparri.

She added that trainings on coastal-resource management, fisheries management, postharvest and value-adding will take place in the area and eventually become a place for regular interaction and information exchange between the fishermen on how to sustainably manage their resources.

Aparri emphasized the need of individual cooperation from the locals in the management of fisheries production that targets to lower the postharvest losses. which is 25 percent in every catch.