Gov't to fishermen: Try oyster growing
>> Tuesday, August 20, 2013
COMMUNITY
BILLBOARD
Jennelyn
Mondejar
DAGUPAN CITY– The Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources encouraged fisherfolk in this city, especially the marginalized
fishermen, to go into oyster growing as an alternative livelihood that can be
potentially as lucrative as tending to the famous bangus (milkfish).
Dr. Westly Rosario, chief of the National
Integrated Fisheries and Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) under BFAR,
said oyster (talaba) growing is environment- friendly, and requires minimal
capital and is easy to grow with little supervision.
“In a tropical country like ours, it only
needs a while to grow oysters,” Rosario said.
Rosario added there is market for oysters
waiting to be accommodated, hence more oyster growers are needed.
To succeed, fishermen are advised to be very
careful in growing oysters, making sure their harvests will be free from the
bacteria e-coli that can cause diarrhea.
One way to make the oysters safe is to adopt
the net-bamboo process. Leaving oysters in a clean net connected to bamboos for
10 days ensures that the bacteria will disappear.
Applying science to the traditional way of
oyster culture will not only eliminate bacteria but will also help the river
system recover and provide additional income to fishermen, Rosario said.
“The problem is, no one adapts to this
scheme. I hope a policy will be enacted that prohibits the sale of oysters if
it did not undergo the net-bamboo process,” he said.
Over-extraction also poses a threat to oyster
production, Rosario said. Oysters, which have not yet reached maturity are
immediately harvested leaving no room for growth and cycle.
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