The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) based in this province distributes thousands of tilapia and catfish fingerlings to fisherfolk in various parts of Ilocos Norte, whose ponds and fish cages were damaged due to the onslaught of the previous typhoon.

Vanessa Abegail Dagdagan, Senior Aquaculturist of BFAR-Ilocos Norte, said in an interview Wednesday that a total of 378,000 tilapia fingerlings and 32,000 catfish were distributed to target beneficiaries, making sure that the province will have sufficient fish supply in the upcoming months.

“This is just the initial distribution of fingerlings as early recovery assistance to severely affected areas as we expect more fingerlings to arrive from the BFAR- National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center in the Science City of Munoz in Nueva Ecija,” Dagdagan said.

She added this intervention is expected to increase harvest to support food supply and boost fish production in the province after Typhoon Egay left more than PHP20-million damages in fisheries.

Aside from the ongoing distribution of fingerlings until Friday, Dagdagan said the agency has also delivered 1,200 food packs to augment the continuing relief aid distribution to affected fisherfolk.

“Thank you to BFAR Region 1 for extending their support to us,” said Joel Queddeng, president of the Dilavo Fishermen Association in Pasuquin town.

In the latest report on a fish production survey, the Ilocos Region’s overall fisheries production posted a total of 194,114 metric tons in 2022.

It improved by 2.56 percent over the 2021 production of 189,260.45 metric tons.

Ilocos Norte is the sole province in Ilocos Region without a commercial fishery sector.

All fishery subsectors, including aquaculture, inland, marine, and commercial, posted a reduction in production, wherein inland municipal fisheries had the highest drop of 31.20 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. (PNA)