Maribojoc fishers earn P117K from floating fish cage project in Bohol

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

BOHOL Province—Members of the Maribojoc Coastal Barangay Law Enforcers association in Bohol earned more than P117,000 from its fish harvest on April 29 from the marine floating fish cage project that was earlier granted in 2020 through the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program of the Department of Agriculture -Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) in Central Visayas.

According to BFAR-Bohol Provincial Fishery Officer Candido Samijon that that the association members harvested 936 kilograms of bangus from the fish cage installed off Barangay Poblacion, Maribojoc shores.  They sold their harvest at an affordable market price between Php120 and Php130 per kilo, logging in P117,000 income from the first harvest of its second fish cage.

The 28-member association has two existing fish cages; the first one was a SAAD-aided project funded in 2019 while the other was earmarked on the succeeding year.  Part of the fish cage project, which cost over P210,000 are the 5,500 milkfish or “bangus” fingerlings and the 120 bags of fish feeds allotted for the first cropping, Samijon said.

The offshore fish cages served as livelihood intervention to the association which was tagged as among the marginalized fisherfolk group in Maribojoc town.  The local government unit of Maribojoc was quick to recognize the group because aside from its poverty status, the members shared a noble cause in protecting and conserving the marine resources, Samijon added.

According to BFAR-7 the project has given the association modern fishing technologies on top of its use of traditional fishing methods.  The floating-designed fish cage boosts their productivity and income.

Based on the association’s income records in 2019, the association tallied a Php222,600 profit from two separate harvests. The first harvest that year yielded 905 kilograms of bangus that gathered some Php108,600 revenues while the second harvest yielded 950 kilograms of bangus that recorded Php114,000 in sales.

BFAR-7 on the other hand continued to give the fisher/members various training on how to operate, manage and sustain the fish cage project in 2019 and 2020. For the third year of the project implementation, BFAR-7 will continue to guide the association with trainings on fishery enterprise and the like, Samijon aid.

The goal of the SAAD program is to develop a scheme within three years for the association to eventually manage its own fishery business enterprise. (Photos: BFAR7)