January 23, 2007

Philippine-China aquaculture techno park to rise in Visayas region 
 

A joint mariculture technology park of Philippines and China will be constructed in the waters of San Juanico Strait near Barangay Uban of Babatngon town in the province of Leyte in the Visayas region. 

This was revealed to the Manila Bulletin daily by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) National Director Malcolm Sarmiento during an inspection of the proposed site last week as an agreement on the project has already been signed among fishery officials of China, the Philippines, and Babatngon.

The park will be a research centre for mariculture and will be manned by Filipino and Chinese experts on the industry, Sarmiento said.

The park will also promote the use of solar energy as it sources allits power requirement from photovoltaic technology, the BFAR official said.

Director Sarmiento and BFAR Regional Director Ernesto Cam Hilvano personally escorted a delegation of Chinese leaders headed by Li Zhu Jiang, the director general of the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Ocean and Fisheries, BFAR's counterpart in China.

BFAR also disclosed that some Chinese investors have already made tie-ups with their local counterparts in putting up sea cages at the Basey Mariculture Zone for the culture of high value species like grouper (Lapu-lapu) and abalone.