Successful fish stories

(Conclusion)

The successful modular culture of bangus in cages in Talisayan, Mis. Or., has been a source of excitement – and optimism˜among the fisherfolk of Sitio Guiwanon in Barangay Poblacion, and of course, the conceptualizer and developer of the project – the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Fisheries Resource Management Project (BFAR-FRMP).

The fishing villagers have teamed up to nurture the milkfish sown and grown in cages. The earnings from the initial harvests indicate a good source of income especially during bad weather when no deep-sea fishing is possible. Eventually, the project will be managed by the fishermen who have formed a cooperative, said Dave Ernacio, BFAR assistant regional director.

It took nearly two years to convince the villagers about the benefits they would get from the project. Seminars and socializing changed their hesitancy – perhaps suspicion, at the start – to wholehearted cooperation. It also helped that the town mayor, Rommel Maslog, met with them regularly.

One of the beneficiaries, Lito Simane, 45, sees a good future for his six children with the expansion of the project. "We should have more cages," he told a team of journalists from Manila.

Thelma Balandar, 62, is a hardworking woman, running a sari-sari store and renting out a motorized banca to fishermen. Still she helps augment the coop‚s income by deboning some of the fish for a price higher than P65 a kilo for un-deboned fish.

The harvests have sold like hotcakes. Melchor Gabactulan said the town market bought all of them, there is no need to look for other markets. But Dave said with expansion, outlying towns will have their fill of the sitio’s bangus. Eventually, other fish will be raised like lapu-lapu and kitang.

Mayor Maslog said that at their meetings, the fishermen have expressed interest in other areas like seaweeds, avalon and sea cucumber. "We’ve talked about being able to raise money from the modular cages, and buy a P2.3 million fishing boat." Bright dreams – but realizable, thanks to BFAR.

A previous column registered my and Dr. Florence Tadiar’s shock over a statement made by the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General, Romulo L. Neri, which came out in the press, to the effect that he favored large families in order to bolster economic growth. Mr. Neri wrote that a reporter had taken his statement out of context. Let me print his reaction.

He wrote that during a press briefing, he said that "the 2001-2004 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) targeted a growth rate of 1.9 per cent and that 2.36 percent is just too high and unsustainable in the long run.

"In my talk at the UP School of Economics last week, I was relating an incident where I was asked in Japan by Nomura Securities what the secret to the high consumption growth the in the Philippines was. My reply was for them "to try having more babies.‚ (Japan has a population growth rate of – 0.2 per cent).

"I also mentioned that our recent high population growth rate is not a total negative in the light of global demographics. Europe and Japan, and even the United States of America, are aging, giving rise to a large demand for well-paid nurses and other health workers and caregivers. I was just citing the realities of global demographics which gave rise to economic opportunities for our young and skilled labor forces. I am certainly not advocating the export of maids and entertainers, etc.

"I also stated that the children are already there and that we should not treat them as liabilities but rather as future assets by doing our best to feed and educate them.

"It is unfortunate that my statements have been subject to misinterpretations."

Well taken, Mr. Neri. Now what this space wants is a statement on the link between unchecked population increase and economic underdevelopment. Is there indeed a relationship between poverty and unchecked rate of population growth? Do you recommend the use of family planning methods – from artificial to natural methods to stem the tide of overproduction of babies?

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