BFAR launches fisheries info center

What is the average fish catch of a fisherman? How many fisherfolk are licensed to fish? Have fisherfolk been prosecuted due to their illegal fishing activities?

Answers to these and similar questions can now be found through the Philippine Fisheries Information Systems (PhilFIS) which is hosted by the Fisheries Information Management Center (FIMC).

The FIMC was launched last Friday by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR).

The FIMC will host PhilFIS which provides the infrastructure for the collection, processing and timely delivery of relevant and reliable information in support of fisheries management planning and implementation.

PhilFIS is expected to provide government a tool to formulate fisheries management plans and monitor the implementation of such plans as well as serve as barometer to evaluate their effectiveness.

Other than data on fish catch, licenses and violations, PhilFIS also contains databases on maps, resource and ecological assessment and socio-economic assessment. It also contains document and bibliographic databases that aid fisheries studies.

The FIMC sets the foundation for BFAR to pursue its goal as the primary technical agency handling the fisheries sector. It is being established through FRMP, a six-year project under the DA-BFAR which responds to the problems of fisheries resource depletion and persistent poverty among municipal fisherfolk through fisheries resource management, capacity building and income diversification.

The Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation support the FRMP.

The FIMC is located at Estuar Bldg., 880 Quezon Ave., Quezon City.