Setting up hatcheries to boost fish supply: DA-BFAR

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) is keen on expanding the aquaculture industry by producing enough fish even during typhoons.

“We are eyeing to increase our local source for fingerlings through legislated hatcheries which are intended for fry production,” DA Undersecretary for Agri-Industrialization and for Fisheries Cheryl Caballero said in an interview on Wednesday.

Caballero said the fingerlings will be distributed to satellite nurseries and local operators.

“Then assuring the source for bangus fingerlings para sa (for the) grown-out areas. Included also are fry production for tilapia, pompano, and siganid —which has 104 percent production at present,” she said.

Senator Cynthia Villar pushed for the establishment of more legislated fish hatcheries to ensure the sustainability of the country’s marine product supply.

As chairperson of the Senate committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, Villar led the hearing in January 2022 for the 11 House bills and one Senate bill which seeks to build additional fish hatcheries.

Meanwhile, Caballero said that with aquaculture or the cultivation of aquatic animals being heavily promoted by the DA-BFAR, this will largely help mitigate the losses of fisheries production, especially during typhoons.

She said the country stands to gain from this compared to just relying on wild catching or fishing in the open sea as a resource for fisheries.

DA-BFAR particularly cited Typhoon Odette that left the fisheries sector with PHP3.97 billion in damages, or 29.8 percent of the total agriculture damage placed at PHP13.3 billion.