FISHERFOLK residing in six of Baguio’s barangays have received aid from the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) in the form of fish fingerlings to raise and subsequently sell for livelihood.
Fisherfolk from barangays Happy Hallow, Lucnab, Atok Trail, Camp 7, Irisan and Sto. Tomas School Area have received some 23,500 black tilapia fingerlings for them to raise from the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) and the Cordillera office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
At the same time, some 1,100 black tilapia and red tilapia fingerlings have been released into the Wright Park lake for “attraction and biodiversity” purposes. These fish are under the care of the park management, and will be harvested upon reaching appropriate maturity.
City Veterinarian Dr. Brigit Piok said that the fingerlings are provided free of charge as part of an attempt to support the city’s fishing industry and its practitioners, especially during the time of economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, in Bontoc, Mountain Province, 30,000 carp fingerlings were released along the Chico and Agkhuyo water systems on May 6, 2021.
These were released in Fikoko, Barangay Samoki, and in Paling and Napo in Barangay Bontoc Ili, Bontoc, Mountain Province.
The carp fingerlings dispersal was made possible through the Balik Sigla sa Ilog at Lawa (BaSIL) project of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that aims to repopulate freshwater bodies with non-invasive and indigenous fish species.
Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey thanked the BFAR for its immediate response to the request of Bontoc for the provision of fingerlings and all its assistance to the municipality. The mayor commended all the concerned agencies and stakeholders for the realization of the carp fingerlings dispersal which he hopes to be harvested after one year.
Odsey appealed to the public to observe safe, proper, and environment-friendly fishing practices to ensure that the benefits of water resources are maximized.
This is through the use of appropriate gears, non-use of harmful fishing methods, and venturing into possible ways of processing the fish catch.
According to Administrative Officer Ross Kiat-ong of the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMAg), the agencies involved in the carp fingerlings dispersal are the BFAR-CAR, BFAR-Provincial Field Office, Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU), and BLGUs of Samoki and Bontoc Ili.
Kiat-ong added that in the past years, different fish species were released along the Chico River to include carp, tilapia, ulang (freshwater prawn), gurami, and eel fingerlings. This is through the collaborative efforts of the BFAR, Bontoc LGU, and other partner stakeholders. with reports by Alpine L. Killa, Bontoc –LGU
