Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center (BFAR-NIFTDC) is pinning its hope on the Norwegian government’s assistance in preventing fish kills that destroy millions of pesos in aquaculture investments in Pangasinan province yearly.
BFAR-NIFTDC chief Westly Rosario told The Manila Times in June that the technology for an environmental program which the government of Norway has implemented to run its fish culture industry might also be viable for the province.
He said BFAR-NIFTDC has already started negotiating with Norwegian government authorities on a hands-on technology transfer to Philippine fisheries authorities.
According to Rosario, Norway has already indicated it would send a set of equipment to be used in training the local fishery experts. The workshop will be conducted over a period of one year and is expected to start within this year.
The training will form part of the BFAR-NIFTDC Environmental Monitoring and Modeling of Aquaculture in the Philippines, he added.
“When this happens, we can detect early the occurrence of a fish kill to be able to convey a timely warning to investors and prevent them from losing millions of pesos in their aquaculture ventures in the province,” Rosario explained.
He added that the Norwegian technology could also serve as a scientific tool to help local fishery experts locate areas where more aquaculture investments could be put up.
In the past years, millions of pesos of investments in raising milkfish, tilapia and prawn were lost to the dreaded fish kill incidents that plagued the municipal waters of Bolinao in western Pangasinan as well as Binmaley, Lingayen and Dagupan City in the central part of the province.
