The clarion call has been sounded for the First Mariculture Park Congress 2007 which is expected to be held on October 17-20, 2007 at the Tacloban City Convention Center, Philippines.
With the theme "Mariculture Parks: New Frontier to Economic Development", the Mariculture Congress in Eastern Visayas, is expected to draw about 1,000 participants composed of investors/private sector, government agencies, research institutions, foreign lecturers and investors.
Spearheaded by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in cooperation with various government agencies and private sector groups, the First Mariculture Park Congress 2007 hopes to serve as a venue for investors from the private sectors, research experts and government agencies to discuss modern technologies and current issues to promote a modernized, profitable and sustainable mariculture industry.
The Mariculture Park Congress will also tackle technical and social aspects and issues of mariculture park or mariculture zone establishment.
Various activities which are being planned in order maximize the learnings of the participants, include technical sessions on Mariculture technologies like bangus cages, grouper grow-out in cages, mussel and oyster culture, mudcrab culture, high-value species, pearl culture, abalone culture, tridacna culture and hatchery, sea urchin culture and sea cucumber culture.
Other technical sessions are on Post-Harvest and Processing, HACCP, Marketing, Hatchery, Pollution and Credit and Micro-Financing.
Mariculture Industry Exhibits will also be staged by feed dealers, cage fabricators, product exhibits, net suppliers, fingerling suppliers and hatchery operators.
Field Trips and Tours will also be conducted to the Mariculture Parks in San Juanico Strait, to the Mariculture Zone at Quinapondan, Samar, to Mariculture Projects such as seeweeds farms, aquasilviculture, pearl culture, hatcheries, oyster culture, sea urchin culture and fish sanctuaries at Lawaan, Samar and Leyte, Leyte, and visit to MacArthur Park and other historical sites in Leyte .
Indeed, the attendance to the Mariculture Congress is worth the travel, with a very minimal registration fee of P3,000.00 for the kit, lunch and 2 snacks for two days. The local participants will only pay P1,500.00 while for the small fisherfolk, attendance to the Congress is free.
It is but fitting that Eastern Visayas be the venue of the first Mariculture Park Congress considering that Leyte and Samar host a total of 12 Mariculture Parks which have already been in operation for the past few years, out of the total of 19 Mariculture Parks in storm-sheltered and environmental laws-compliant coastal areas nationwide, which the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in partnership with the respective local government units has already set up.
The MP concept is similar to an industrial estate where an area in the sea is subdivided into different plots for the farming of fish and other aquatic life using only approved and environmentally sound culture systems. Important facilities that entail a large capital outlay such as storm-resistant mooring systems and other support structures are set up by the government to encourage investors.
The fish cage operators, in turn, would lease an area from their local government where they will hook up their cages and proceed to fish farming. The operators are also required to train local residents for employment as caretakers, this way the local fish industry is boost up and additional incomes and jobs are generated.
The Mariculture Parks are managed by the concerned local government units with technical and financial assistance provided by the BFAR.
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