Bongao, Tawi-Tawi ─ Researchers from across the country converged in this town recently to discuss the state of sea cucumber fishery.
Specifically, they came for the year-end review and planning workshop of the program “Species inventory and assessment of sea cucumber fishery in key marine biogeographic regions in the Philippines”.
Coordinated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), the yearlong program involved researchers of 14 higher education institutions (HEIs) from Luzon to Mindanao. Funding for this program was the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadikul A. Sahali welcomed the group and praised its work in ensuring that sea cucumber resources remain for future generations. He shared that the province is home to many fisherfolk who depend on fishery for livelihood, thus prompting the local government to venture into high value fishery and to ban what he called “malpractices on fishing”.
He then charged the Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU-TCTO) to promote the knowledge of culture of sea cucumber and to ensure that “no graduate will leave the University without sufficient knowledge of mariculture and sea cucumber farming”.
All these steps, he said, will ensure that Tawi-Tawi becomes the number one exporter of sea cucumber in the country.
In his remarks, MSU-TCTO Chancellor Lorenzo R. Reyes reminded the participants, “We are on the same boat, the same journey”. He added that the ultimate function of research and development (R&D) and thus even of academe is to serve the people. Therefore he said, “MSU–TCTO won’t hesitate to partner with you” to produce technologies that would generate income for the people and help alleviate poverty.
For his part, Mr. Totem Saa from the Office of Policy Planning Research and Information of CHED traced the history of the program and lauded the various project leaders for their commitment to its success.
He praised the program’s significant results and encouraged the group to develop more proposals for funding consideration by the CHED.
To set the proceedings in context, Ms. Ester C. Zaragoza presented an overview of the National Sea Cucumber R&D Program. Zaragoza is the OIC of the Marine Resources Division of PCAARRD.
Researchers from the University of the Philippines (UP) system were at hand to mentor their colleagues, as well as, to share the progress of the projects under the national program, which they lead. Present were Dr. Annette J. Meñez and Dr. Rachel G. Ravago, both of the UP-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) in Diliman, and Dr. Kevin F. Yaptenco of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology of UP Los Baños.
Meñez, the current director of UP-MSI, leads the project on “Developing commercial-scale technology for sandfish culture” while Ravago leads the “Genomic approaches to enhancing broodstock quality”.
Yaptenco, on the other hand, leads the project on “Improving processing technology”. These R&D programs are funded by the Department of Science and Technology.
The National Sea Cucumber R&D Program aims to establish a sustainable and competitive sea cucumber industry with interventions targeting production, postharvest, and trade and marketing.
PCAARRD coordinates the national program and leads in its monitoring and evaluation. Also, the Council funds the project on “Genetic stock delineation and species identification”.