International aquaculture center up soon
AS envisioned, the international training center for aquaculture students and technicians will soon be opened this year.
Dr. Westly Rosario, interim executive director National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), said the Asian Aquaculture Academy located inside the 24-hectare National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center in Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City is set to operate.
Owned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Department of Agriculture, the AAA will be supported by the Network of AquaCulture Center in Asia-Pacific (NACA), Southeast Asian Fisheries Technology Development Center and BFAR.
Rosario told newsmen that the AAA building was funded by the development assistance fund of House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
The building features seven dormitory-type rooms, a training hall for 70 to 100 persons, a restaurant, library, computer room and a multi-purpose room for seminars and workshops.
The embassy of Japan is reportedly set to release P15 million to fully furnish the center and to fund the series of training.
Japan’s financial assistance to the AAA was arranged by the National Agriculture Fisheries Council (NAFC), acting on Rosario’s proposal.
Once operational, the AAA will be the beehive of students and aquaculture technicians from all over Asia and the world to be trained on modern methods in aquaculture and fisheries.
Instructions in the center which will include lectures, field demonstrations, laboratory researches and extension, will be conducted by instructors from NACA, SEAFDEC and BFAR.
Meanwhile, Rosario defended the live fish market constructed at the center, also through the development assistance fund of Speaker de Venecia.
He said the live fish market project was not a whimsical idea but based on existing successful proto-types he saw in Thailand and Indonesia.
He said the live fish market is necessary because there are fish farmers who may want to sell their products live and buyers who may want to buy live fish rather than refrigerated fish.
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