LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- The municipal government here held the launching of the Lingayen Fish Sanctuary and groundbreaking rites for the Lingayen Watch Tower along the Limahong Channel here on Monday, March 7.

The endeavor is a joint project of the local government unit (LGU), together with the provincial government of Pangasinan and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Some 45 units of concrete artificial reefs were given to the LGU which were placed two kilometers away from the shoreline to create a marine protected area along the municipal water.

In her message, BFAR Ilocos Region officer-in-charge regional director Rosario Segundina Gaerlan said the project is expected to boost the marine ecosystem and will eventually help local fisherfolks to increase their catch.

"Heto pong mga artificial reef po natin ay makakatulong sa ating mga mangingisda dahil doon po tutubo ang mga lumot na kakainin naman ng mga isda at magkakaroon na rin sila ng masisilungan,’ she said. (The artificial reef will help our fiherfolks because the moss will thrive there and will thus provide food and shelter to the fishes.)

Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil extended his gratitude to the provincial government for the realization of the project.

"Nagpapasalamat ako sa ating mahal na gobernador dahil siya ang nakaisip ng artificial reef natin. Ito na ang tried, tested, and proven formula para lalong dumami ang isda sa karagatan" the municipal chief executive said. (I thank our provincial governor because it was his idea to put up an artificial reef. This is the tried, tested, and proven formula for the fish population to grow.)

Bataoil noted that through the years, the catch of fisherfolk here has declined considerably.