PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Palawan’s Livelihood Project Management Unit (LPMU) has requested the Department of Agriculture (DA) to conduct a sustainability mapping to determine which part of the province would be appropriate for seaweed production.
Dr. Myrna Lacanilao, head of the LMPU, said Friday the sustainability mapping aims to determine the most suitable shoreline area where seaweeds can be farmed to provide Palaweños an alternative livelihood.
The DA’s National Fisheries Research and Development Institute has been asked to conduct the mapping.
“The salinity of water and everything about seaweeds and production should be mapped because we saw that it works. This time, we will do it scientifically. In the past when there are seaweeds, growers just plant without basis if their area is apt for farming and production,” she said.
She cited the case of Barangay Isumbo, Sofronio Española, where good quality seaweeds are being harvested by farmers.
Lacanilao added that Palawan produces 98 percent of the Mimaropa region’s seaweed production.
“The mapping might start in June in the shorelines of Palawan starting from the municipality of Taytay in the northern area,” she said.
The seaweed propagules that the province are growing come from the nurseries located in the municipalities of Taytay, El Nido, and Araceli, which in turn source them from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center based in Iloilo.
At present, the number of individuals who have benefited from the Seaweeds Industry Development Program has reached 15,000 individuals since it began in 2015.
Lacanilao said she believes the seaweed industry will bring economic development to Palawan and uplift the lives of many of its residents. (PNA)
