Villar pushes Senate approval of marine hatcheries
Senator Cynthia Villar has pushed the passage of the bills thate would establish three more marine hatcheries in the country.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, sponsored on Tuesday, September 28, three House bills for the establishment and funding of multi-species hatcheries in Libon, Albay; in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; and in Batad, Iloilo.
Under House Bill No. 7435, the Albay hatchery shall be transferred from the management of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to the local government unit (LGUs) within two years after its construction .
House Bill 7544, meanwhile, would mandate the transfer of the management of the Palawan hatchery from the BFAR to the concerned LGU and to the Western Philippine University within five years after its construction.
Further, House Bill 7547 proposes that the management of the satellite Iloilo hatchery be transferred to the Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College (NIPSC) within three years.
In pushing for the approval of hatcheries, Villar stressed the contribution of fisheries to the national economy in terms of income and employment. She cited that in 2018, total fish production was estimated at 4.61 million metric tons, and the fisheries sector contributed 4.9 billion US dollars to the country's economy in 2018.
"However, compared to our South East Asian neighbors, we are only number four in Marine Capture after Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar. We are also number five in our inland (municipal waters) fisheries output compared to Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam; and number three with regards to Aquaculture production, after Indonesia and Vietnam," said Villar.
In addition, she noted that the country's estimated requirement for fish fry is about 3.5 billion annually, and "we can only supply from local production 2.5 billion a year.”
"In this age where competitiveness is the key for our local industries, we cannot remain dependent from outside sources for our production inputs. Every agricultural industry should have a global perspective," Villar said in her sponsorship speech.