BAGUIO CITY—The Department of Science and Technology and the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines have teamed up in adopting Sustainable Development Goals to provide the much-needed enhancement programs for the country’s fishery sector.
DoST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said the agency and its attached bureaus have expressed interest in determining how the country’s fishery sector will impact on the achievement of the SDGs in the country.
Dela Peña pointed out that—policy recommendations on appropriate interventions to help boost the fishery sector—will be submitted to the concerned government agencies and the private sector for consideration.
With the abundance of marine life in our different bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and oceans in our country, the fishery sector must maximize its full potentials. Key to this is the immediate adoption of SDG.
Aside from pursuing research and development activities to explore available fish species that needs to be promoted in the market, Dela Pena said that DoST likewise currently works on the provision of technical assistance to the fisherfolks in the countryside.
“Improved production of endemic species that will provide respectable income and revenues to fisherfolks is one specific area for intervention aside from projected assistance to fishermen that would include provision of sufficient production materials, packaging of their produce and the subsequent marketing of their produce in both the low-end and high-end markets,” Dela Peña explained.
He likewise cited critical problems on the fishing industry that include encroachments of foreign fishermen into Philippine waters.
National and regional DoST officials remain optimistic that the country’s fishery sector will achieve its maximum potentials and significant increases in fish production will be attained once appropriate assistance and sustainable development programs are implemented.