ILOILO City – Three seaweed growers associations in northern Iloilo are the recipients of additional species produced from the culture laboratory of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.
The provision of additional seaweed species is among the projects that will be undertaken by Gerald Bano, chairperson of the municipal fisheries and aquatic resource management councils of San Dionisio, Iloilo, who is BFAR Western Visayas’ fisherfolk director in line with the celebration of the Farmers and Fisherfolk Month this May.
“We wanted to try a new variety and if goes well, then we can also increase our market and trading,” Bano said on Thursday.
Bano has requested from BFAR a variety of seaweed that could withstand the heat, bacteria, and other threats.
He shared that most of the coastal barangays of San Dionisio are into seaweed farming. The beneficiary Barangays of Tiabas, Sua, and Naborot have been identified as nurseries for seaweeds.
The Tiabas Seaweed Growers Association has over 700 farmer-members; Sua Seaweed Growers Association has around 300; and the Naborot Fisherfolk Association has 30 members.
Bano said the market is high for seaweeds as monthly, the farmers have a sure market of 50 tons to 100 tons of dried seaweeds.
The designation of Bano as the fisherfolk director is provided under the Department of Agriculture Special Order number 88 (Mangingisdang Direktor para sa Matatag na Balikatan Program) and BFAR Fisheries Office Order No. 080 series of 2005.
Bano took his oath before BFAR-6 director Remia Aparri on May 3.(PNA)
