DTI urges stakeholders to invest in mariculture

DTI urges stakeholders to invest in mariculture Regional News

BUTUAN CITY – With the rise of park zones allotted for mariculture in Caraga, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is encouraging stakeholders to engage in aquamarine industry by building fish cages within its identified four mariculture parks.

The said park zones are in Surigao City and in the municipalities of Nasipit, Dapa and Barobo which currently hold more than 400 existing fish cages.

DTI Caraga Regional Director Brielgo O. Pagaran aspires to invite investors in the aquamarine industry to maximize the region’s potential productivity in the fisheries sector.

“We need to make use of our existing park zones so that people may be provided with jobs and our target gross regional domestic product is reached within a few years,” he added. Solis said that initial investment for fish farming using the Norwegian fish cage would reach P3 million inclusive of the fish cage, fingerlings, and aqua feeds, as well as technical training on its operation.

He added that more than 50 units of Norwegian fish cages are already installed in the region where bangus (milk fish) fingerlings as prime commodity are bred.

An estimated four tons of bangus are harvested at least twice a year in each fish cage unit which is equivalent to almost P500,000 income per harvest.

Trade and Industry Development Specialist Dennis Solis said that DTICaraga is now providing technical assistance to investors who are interested in engaging with building Norwegian fish cages which are mobile circular cages made of high-density polyethylene. As it is a lucrative business, aquaculture is considered a priority industry cluster in Caraga. Furthermore, the said project promotes environmental, economic and social sustainability thereby creating a sustainable aquaculture in the region. (DTI Caraga/PIA-Caraga)