P29-M fishport, cold storage facility to rise in Sulu town

MANILA, Philippines - A modern integrated fishport and cold storage complex, worth P29.2 million, will soon rise in Maimbung, Sulu, funded by the Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), in partnership with the provincial government of Sulu and municipal government of Maimbung.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala led the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony last Feb. 24 at Maimbung pier, along with Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan and his son Maimbung Mayor Samier Tan, newly appointed PFDA general manager Rodolfo Paz, and director Malcolm Sarmiento of the DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

The fishport and cold storage complex, slated to be completed in December 2011, is capable of handling 10 tons of fish daily, said Paz.

Alcala said the facility will subsequently transform Maimbung into a major fish trading center in Western Mindanao, providing small fisherfolk and their families sustained source of income and livelihood. It will also spur the economic development of Maimbung and Sulu archipelago, one of the richest fishing grounds in the country.

To complement the fish catch from the wild, the DA-BFAR will establish mariculture parks (MPs) in appropriate coves and bays in the archipelago. The MPs will contain fish cages that will be rented to small fisherfolk via ‘rent-to-own’ scheme.

Alcala said the facility is part of President Aquino’s commitment to uplift the livelihood of small fisherfolk in far-flung communities, yet rich in natural and marine resources like Maimbung.

“Ito po ay isa lamang sa mga proyekto ni Pangulong Aquino upang makinabang ang maliliit na mangingisda at iba pa nating mga kababayan — at manumbalik ang kanilang tiwala sa pamahalaan (This is just one of the many projects of President Aquino for the benefit of small fishermen and ruralfolk, and hence win back their trust on government),” said Alcala.

For his part, Tan said the DA-BFAR mariculture parks will also complement the provincial government’s existing marine fishery projects in tandem with fishermen’s cooperatives that raise prawns, oysters, and seaweeds.

In addition to the fishport and cold storage complex, and mariculture parks, Sec. Alcala said the DA-BFAR will also set up a seaweed tissue culture laboratory in Sulu to provide sustainable and continuous source of quality, healthy seaweed propagules or plantlets, along with drying and semi-processing facilities to produce seaweed chips and powder.

This twin initiative will further enhance the seaweed industry in Sulu, the DA chief said.

He added that fishfarmers should use tissue-cultured or new seaweed propagules every three croppings to avoid diseases such as ‘ice-ice.’