ILOILO CITY — Some 4,000 mud crab juveniles and 10,000 saline-resistant tilapia fingerlings were dispersed at the Iloilo River on Friday.
The activity was part of the stock enhancement program of the City Agriculturist Office (CAO) with the South East Asia Fisheries Development Center- Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) in Tigbauan, Iloilo providing the needed crablets and fingerlings.
The stocks were released along Zone 4 of the river in the vicinities of barangays Navais, Mandurriao and Fundidor, Molo of this city.
“We are expecting that after a quarter of the year, these stocks would invade our aquatic population and sustain the productivity of our river,” CAO head Romulo Pangantihon said.
The portion where the stocks were dispersed has been identified as a fishing area as stipulated in Regulation Ordinance 2009-247.
The fishing area extends from Carpenter’s Bridge upstream.
Pangantihon said strict regulation is necessary otherwise the stocks will be depleted.
He added that several fisherfolks have claimed to have been able to send their children to school and became professionals out of the income they earned from fishing at the Iloilo River.
“We would like to sustain this activity at the Iloilo River,” he stated.
Friday’s dispersal program was also aligned with the Fish Conservation Week celebration that is being spearheaded by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).