Monday, July 6, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
MATI, DAVAO ORIENTAL — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the municipal government will set up a 345-hectare mariculture park.
George G. Campeon, regional director of the Fisheries agency, said in an interview late last week that about 100 hectares of the planned park will be devoted to bangus production. "The area is ideal for bangus-growing since its waves are not big," Mr. Campeon said.
Richard L. Villacorte, local government administrator, said BFAR and the local government will jointly invest P10 million in three years to develop the area.
Part of the fund will be used for mooring systems, including ropes to delineate the area since the plan is to divide the park into three parts.
The local government already has a pilot fish cage of bangus in the area which has yielded P895,000 worth of harvest from a P600,000 investment. "We tried first to find out if the area is suitable for a mariculture park," Mr. Villacorte said.
Mr. Villacorte said the first part of the park will be set aside for small fisherfolk and for groups that want to conduct studies. "We want to invest considering that they [fisherfolk] are also our engine of growth," he said, explaining that they will be trained on how to manage fish cages.
The second zone of the park will be devoted to small private investors. The third zone will be devoted to big investments by companies that will have bigger fish cages, he added.
Initially, an investor needs about P500,000 in capital for a 10-meter by 10-meter fish cage, with P250,000 to be used in setting the fish cage, while a similar amount to buy feeds. — C. Q. Francisco
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