Crustacean program for Eastern Visayas

SUSTAINABLE production of crustaceans in Eastern Visayas is expected to be achieved following the conduct of different research and development initiatives.

This welcome development will be conducted and implemented by the Samar State University (SSU).

This initiative was approved under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Science for Change Program, Accelerated Research and Development (R&D) Program for Capacity Building of Research and Development Institutions and Industrial Competitiveness-Niche Centers in the different regions for R&D (NICER).

The SSU-NICER program on crustaceans is one of the first batches of R&D program/projects, which has been approved by the DOST for funding.

In connection with the implementation of the program, the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) conducted an official visit to the SSU R&D program sites on crustaceans.

The visit was led by DOST-PCAARRD acting executive director Dr. Reynaldo V. Ebora together with Dr. Mari-Ann M. Acedera, director of the Council’s Marine Resources Research Division (MRRD).

Titled “Establishment of the Eastern Visayas Center for Crustacean Research and Development (EVCCRD),” the program consists of two project components.

The first component or “Project 1” has been dubbed “Stock assessment and reproductive biology of blue swimming crab (P. pelagicus, Linnaeus 1758) and other crustaceans which can be found in the Maqueda Bay, Villareal Bay, Zumarraga Channel and southeastern Samar Sea.”

The project intends to provide scientific basis to determine different problems such as the overexploitation of the blue swimming crab and other crustaceans in the waters of Eastern Visayas.

It is expected to significantly explain the effects or impacts of fishing on the stock structure and reproductive potential of the species.

For Project 1, Professor Jesus T. Racuyal will serve as the Program and Project Leader.

On the other hand, Project 2, titled “Stock enhancement of blue swimming crab through breeding and seed production,” aims to determine the productivity of the species under hatchery conditions to produce stocks for enhancement, particularly in the province of Samar.

For this project, Professor Renato Diocton serves as the Project Leader.

The program has a total budget of P25 million and will be implemented for three years.

Just recently, SSU Vice-President for Planning, Research and Development Ronald Orale, Professor Racuyal, and Professor Diocton guided the visiting team to the hatchery and production facility of the SSU-Mercedes Campus as well as the Center for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Research and Development.

The establishment of the EVCCRD is expected to benefit the different local government units (LGUs) in Eastern Visayas in terms of the information, strategies, and technologies that the program will generate.

These can be used by the various LGUs in policy formulation on the management and sustainable utilization of blue swimming crab and other crustacean resources, thereby helping improve the social conditions of the fisherfolk.

With the conducted site visit to the Hatchery Production Facility of the SSU and the meeting of PCAARRD with the NICER program personnel, the group has polished the targets of the program, which is now ready for implementation. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)

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