DA set to open P57M worth of aquaculture projects

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will open two bangus central hatcheries, three mariculture parks and an array of aquaculture projects worth a total of P57 million which will hopefully allow the fisheries sector to remain as a major growth driver for Philippine agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the projects to be launched over the next two months include three mariculture parks worth P5 million each in Sagnay in Camarines Sur, Calapan in Oriental Mindoro and Puerto Princesa in Palawan; a P6-million seaweed processing plant and a P100,000 seaweed nursery, both in Parang, Maguindanao.

Test-runs on the seaweed processing facility were conducted last June.

The plant turns both wet and dried Eucheuma seaweed into alkali-treated chips and produces an average 10 metric tons of dried seaweed chips per month.