Iloilo lawmaker bats for marine hatcheries

With the western seaboard of the Pacific being battered by extreme weather disturbances, Iloilo 5th District Rep. Raul Tupas called on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to put up marine hatcheries, similar to the ones utilized by Northern Iloilo State University and other successful models.

Tupas, vice chair of the committee on aquaculture and fisheries resources and national defense and security of the House, said in a statement that SUCs (state colleges and universities)-based marine hatcheries help fisherfolk who cannot fish during bad weather conditions.

“Here in Iloilo, we have a few marine hatcheries, and we need more so (that) Iloilo can supply the needs not just of Panay Island but also the rest of the country so that with the increase in supply, the inflation problem is also addressed,” Tupas said.

The lawmaker described the marine hatcheries management model in Northern Iloilo as strong because it is “institutionally- based at the Northern Iloilo State University. By locating it at NISU, we also make NISU the repository of the institutional memory needed to ensure the sustainability of the marine hatchery.”

“Having marine hatcheries on campuses of state universities ensures the continuing operation of the hatcheries with the institutional support and technical support systems already present in the SUCs,” he said.

Thus, the hatcheries are located on public property owned by the SUCs and therefore, “protected from private interests. The hatcheries serve public interest purposes: food security, employment of fisherfolk, training of students, and research of SUC faculty.”

“I push for these marine hatcheries to be established in these particular areas of the country because the western side is adversely affected by the Southwest Monsoon, while typhoons from the Pacific batter the Pacific side,” he asserted.

“The inland hatcheries can also support livelihood during the fishing ban months or closed season from September to March,” Tupas added.There is also the added consideration of securing livelihood for fishermen who are harassed in the West Philippine Sea by a foreign power, whose aggression in the Western exclusive economic zone has deprived fisherfolk of fish harvests that are rightfully theirs. The inland hatcheries can serve as their continuing lifeline. ROSE DELA CRUZ