LEGAZPI: The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Bicol has provided boats to a local government unit (LGU) in Camarines Sur and seven fisherfolk beneficiaries from different towns in Catanduanes.

Rowena Briones, BFAR-Bicol spokesperson, said the LGU of Nabua in Camarines received on Monday a 16-footer patrol boat worth PHP500,000 that would be used to monitor and safeguard the municipal waters.

“The patrol boat is for inland or freshwater and it is intended for Balik Sigla sa Ilog at Lawa (BASIL) program that is designed to revitalize fisheries production in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, and enhance the sustainability of aquatic resources. Aside from the patrol boat, BFAR will also provide technical assistance in the conduct of fishery law enforcement activities, research, programs, and project implementations,” Briones said in an interview on Tuesday.

She said BFAR and the Nabua LGU also signed a memorandum of agreement to facilitate regular patrolling under the Bantay Lawa and other acti
vities in sustaining and maintaining nature’s resources.

Nabua Mayor Fernando Simbulan thanked the BFAR for the patrol boat, recognizing its dual purpose in supporting BFAR projects and serving as a crucial asset during calamities.

Briones said that in Catanduanes, seven fiberglass reinforced plastic boats with complete accessories were given to individual members of Palnab Demonstration Fish Farm and Nursery (PDFFN), along with 218,000 tilapia fingerlings.

“BFAR-Bicol will continue to provide projects for the conservation, management, development, protection, utilization, and disposition of all fisheries and aquatic resources in the region,” she said

Source: Philippines News Agency