BFAR launches “TnT” program
IT’S green and go for the development and promotion of the TnT (tahong and talaba) program in the country, courtesy of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center (NIFTDC) in Dagupan City.
According to Dr. Westly Rosario, NIFTDC chief, the promotion will kick-off with the training of stakeholders and staff on the improved methods of raising mussels and oysters that will serve as the core of trainors in the 14 regional offices of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for the technology transfer.
Simultaneous with the training, the profiling of the coastal areas in the country will be done to determine which areas are conducive to the raising of oysters in backyard and in commercial quantities.
BFAR National Director Asis Perez projects a two-to-three year implementation in some coastal towns notwithstanding the presence of red tide in some areas.
“Actually, red tide is no stumbling block to the program. What fish farmers should do is to stop harvesting their shellfishes when there is red tide and will just do so only after the episode is over,” Rosario said. The lull in harvesting could result in bigger mussels and oysters.
He said part of the methodology is to teach fish farmers how to detect red tide even in the absence of laboratory analysis.
The trained technicians trained are expected to teach fish farmers the modern technology and wean them away from the primitive methods.
If the “TnT” program succeeds, the Philippines can add mussels and oysters to its list of export commodities. – LVM
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