PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The provincial government of Palawan’s livelihood management unit (LMU) is set to distribute seaweed seedlings to residents of a coastal community this month in the northern municipality of Taytay.
LMU head Myrna Lacanilao said 40 beneficiaries residing at Sitio Amogues, Barangay Calawag in Taytay would get the seedlings on November 28.
“One of the benchmarks we are looking for before the distribution of seaweeds to beneficiaries is that they need to be living next to a clean marine environment,” Lacanilao said.
Over four tons of seaweed propagules would be distributed and each beneficiary would receive around 100 kilos from the livelihood project that is being assisted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Palawan, she said.
The recipients are all members of the Seaweeds Industry Development Program (SIDP) of the provincial government.
“Ang programang ito ay bilang tulong sa mga mangingisda na mabigyan ng alternatibong pangkabuhayan ang kanilang pamilya sa pamamagitan ng pagtatanim ng seaweeds (This seaweed dispersal program is aimed at giving alternative livelihood project to our fishermen so, they have extra income for their families),” Lacanilao added.
All the seedlings were grown in seaweed nurseries that can be found in the municipalities of El Nido, Dumaran, Araceli, and Taytay. Lacanilao expects that in the following months, more seaweed nurseries can be set up in other municipalities.
Regular monitoring of the seaweed nurseries are being conducted by the LMU to ensure that propagules are up to standards before distribution to beneficiaries, she said. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
