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BFAR to set up tuna farms in Samar seas

By Sarwell Meniano

July 11, 2018, 5:35 pm

TACLOBAN CITY -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is pushing for the establishment of tuna farms in Samar provinces, the first attempt in the country to culture one of the fastest fish in the ocean.

BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said on Wednesday they have been talking with Japanese experts for the proposed yellow fin tuna cages in Eastern and Northern Samar provinces.

Fish cages developed in Japan will be turned over to local government units and will be maintained by poor fisher folks. The project is in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency and giant firm Feedmix Specialist Inc.

“Tuna juveniles will be gathered from spawning grounds in municipal waters for farming. We will provide all necessary assistance to fisher folks, including feeds, to raise the tuna inside cages,” Albaladejo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The ocean enclosure has a diameter of 50 meters. About 1,000 juvenile fishes will be raised for six months to one year before harvest.

Commonly, tuna fishing in Samar areas is in small scale, with locals fishing in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean using small motorboats only and lines waiting for tunas to bite. Usually, fishermen always run out of supplies of food, water, and ice.

The region’s Pacific Ocean, particularly off the coast of Eastern and Northern Samar, is known for tuna fishing with about 600 tons every year, lower than the 1,000 tons quota set by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

“Since tuna fishes are in high seas, they have to spend a lot for fuel to catch the yellow fin tuna,” Albaladejo added.

Over the past years, Filipino commercial fishermen gained access to the High Seas Pocket 1, where big tunas are found.

The High Seas Pocket 1 is the area bounded by the exclusive economic zones of the Federated States of Micronesia to the north and east, the Republic of Palau to the west, and the Republic of Indonesia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea to the south. (PNA)

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