BOKOD, Benguet – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Cordillera last week turned-over motorized fishing boats made from fiberglass to fisherfolks of Sitio Kiweng, Barangay Ambuklao this town.
Forty fisherfolks received 20 units of 20-footer motorized fishing boats and certificates of award during a simple ceremony in Ambuklao.
BFAR-CAR Director Lilibeth Signey, Bokod municipal and Ambuklao barangay officials handed the certificates, Jan. 3.
Each fishing boat has two beneficiaries to promote shared ownership and responsibilities to ensure its upkeep and maintenance. In return, beneficiaries shall submit catch record to BFAR each time the boat is used for fishing and shall report any form of illegal and destructive fishing, Signey said.
The fabrication of the fishing boats was done by the beneficiaries themselves through the scheme “Bangka ko, gawa ko” that aims not just to provide livelihood assistance through the provision of fiberglass boats for the fishermen but to also encourage and build cooperativism among the fishing communities.
Signey said the project is part of BFAR’s F/B Pagbabago Livelihood and Development Program in line with the BFAR’s mandate to improve fisheries productivity and empower stakeholders towards food security, global competitiveness and climate change adaptation.
F/B Pagbabago is a livelihood intervention of the BFAR under its National Fisherfolk Program dubbed as Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation.
It aims to uplift the economic status of Filipino fisherfolk through the provision of disaster-resilient fishing boats and resource-appropriate fishing gears, while at the same time empowering the fisherfolk and their families to become responsible resource users.
The program is anchored on a comprehensive approach to fisheries development following the Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management to ensure the sustainability of the resource and shall integrate the development of both production and marketing channels to enable fisherfolk to optimize economic returns, and thus improve their economic plight.
The turnover ceremony was also witnessed by Bokod Municipal Agriculturist Gerardo Beray, councilors Johnny Sama and Alejandro Basilio, BFAR-CAR Chief of Fisheries Production Support Services Division Lois June B. Fermin, and Provincial Fisheries Officer-Designate for Benguet Arnulfo E. Taberna, Jr. – Redjie M. Cawis
April 27, 2024
