by Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/PNA
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has turned over 900 fiberglass boats to the marginalized fishermen of the province of Antique at the Provincial Engineering Office on Wednesday.
BFAR Regional Director Remia A. Aparri, in her message during the ceremonial turnover, said the boats are given as support for the sustainable development of the fishery sector in the province.
“Antique has a rich marine resources with the fish catch reported to be at 38,000 metric tons in 2018,” she said.
She added that tuna abounds in Antique that fishermen usually have a good catch, which are being sold even to General Santos City, which is considered as the tuna capital of the country.
The boats amounting to PHP50,000 to PHP55,000 each were funded under the F/B Pagbabago Livelihood Development Program of the BFAR.
Aparri credited Senator Loren Legarda for the fiberglass boats, saying that the senator coordinated with Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol and the BFAR national officials for the boats.
Legarda, in her message during the turnover, said she was glad to learn that there were 444 fiberglass boats distributed to fisherfolk of the 15 coastal towns of the province, which were funded under the 2017 national budget of the DA-BFAR.
“With the fiberglass boats that were distributed, the fish catch in the province as of March this 2019 had already increased to 58,000 metric tons,” she said.
She further vowed to follow up with the DA-BFAR additional boats and post- harvest facilities such as cold storage facility and tuna processing facility, which the fisherfolk could use for value adding and bigger income.
Each fiberglass boat will be shared by two fisherfolk recipients to make sure that the unit will be well-maintained and that they will not sell it.
