FINGERLINGS DISPERSAL. Indigenous peoples (IPs) release fingerlings along Camachile River in Floridablanca, Pampanga on Tuesday (Dec. 27, 2022). Some 30,000 tilapia fingerlings were provided by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to the IPs in a move to help increase fish supply in the area. (Photo courtesy of BFAR Region 3)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Luzon (BFAR-3) has released some 30,000 tilapia fingerlings along Camachile River in the mountainous part of Floridablanca town, this province.
The move is part of the agency’s "Balik Sigla sa Ilog at Lawa" or BASIL program that aims to repopulate freshwater bodies with fish species such as tilapia and carp.
BFAR-3 Regional Director Wilfredo Cruz, in an interview on Wednesday, said the communal stocking activity is one of the interventions that could help increase fish supply in the area as well as augment the livelihood of the indigenous peoples (IPs).
“This is to increase productivity and eventually improve the living condition of the IPs, who are generally dependent on the river for their livelihood,” he said.
Cruz, meanwhile, asked the residents to observe safe, proper and environment-friendly fishing practices to ensure that the benefits of water resources are maximized.
Municipal agriculturist Myrna Manio De Vera thanked the BFAR for continuously supporting the fishers in their town.
Aside from the fingerlings, the BFAR has also been providing other livelihood interventions to the IPs such as gillnets, portable solar lamps and spear guns.
“The least we can do is to provide them with a set of skills and tools that suits their needs and their culture and can support their livelihood as well,” Cruz said.
Aside from Pampanga, the BFAR-3 also dispersed tilapia and bangus fingerlings as well as other livelihood support in other parts of the region to ensure sustainable income for fisherfolk and their families.
Launched in 2017, the BASIL is a five-year project that aims to rehabilitate major inland bodies of water in the country.
It targets to disperse at least 210 million fingerlings nationwide in major lakes and river basins. (PNA)
