Lingayen fisherfolk get free paraw, artificial coral reefs
BFAR PROJECT
THE fisherfolk in Lingayen were made to feel part of the inclusive growth promised by the national government when they received 30 artificial coral reefs and four paraw (sail boat) from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Regional Office 1.
And the turnover itself sent that message.
Fishermen prepare to load the artificial reefs to be installed out in the sea. (Punchphoto by Nora Dominguez)
It was early morning of April 10, when the Bantay Dagat team, the fishermen of Barangay Libsong East and personnel of the Municipal Agriculture Office of Lingayen, gathered and together they carried the 30 artificial reefs to big bamboo rafts and sailed up to 1.5 kilometers from the shoreline to install the artificial reefs.
Rudy Altre, head of the Bantay Dagat Team said the artificial reefs will help propagate fish in the area and enable the fishers to improve their daily catch, enough to dissuade them from resorting to illegal fishing in the coastal area.
Nestor Domenden, BFAR Region 1 director, said the distribution of paraw and artificial coral reefs is a pilot project of BFAR in the region to help sustain supply of fish and eradicate illegal fishing.
Domenden said the artificial coral reef will be installed in the buffer zone within the 20-meter depth and 100 to 200 meters from the shoreline where permanent, semi-permanent and migratory species of fish can reproduce and grow until the area is populated with different species.
“Lingayen is not a coral area which is why we need to install artificial reefs in order to turn it into a haven for the fish,” Domenden said.
BFAR also provided the fishermen tabal, or gill net, that fishermen can use.
He said 80 percent of the coastal municipalities and cities in the region have already received the same assistance.
At the same time, Domenden urged barangay officials to exercise political will to succeed in supporting the campaign of BFAR to stop illegal fishing and urged the public to take pictures of boats that engage in dynamite fishing so the culprits can be tracked and arrested. (Nora Dominguez)
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