11 bills ni Villar sa marine hatcheries, batas na

MANILA, Philippines — Batas na ang 11 local bills na inisponsor ni Senator Cynthia Villar sa nakalipas na 18th Congress para sa pagtatayo ng multi-species marine hatcheries sa iba’t ibang lugar sa bansa.

Isinulong ni Villar, chairperson ng Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, ang bills upang maging batas dahil sa mataas na antas ng kahirapan sa sektor ng pangingisda.

“The productivity of our marine fisheries resources has been declining because of environmental degradation and ineffective natural resources ma­nagement,” giit ni Villar.

Ayon pa sa senador, nakokompromiso ang ating pagkakaroon ng sapat na pagkain at pinagkakakitaan ng mga nasa sektor ng pangingisda sanhi ng pagbaba ng kanilang nahuhuli.

Bukod dito, ang sektor ng pangingisda ang murang pinagkukunan ng ‘animal protein’ para sa populasyon, pang­kabuhayan sa mahigit isang milyong Pilipino at foreign exchange.

“With the growing population of the Phi­lippines, fishing is one of the major industries seen as a positive contributor to the developing economy,” pahayag ni Villar.

“Thus the need for hatcheries be established in our country which provide the seed for aquaculture and some commercial fisheries,” dagdag pa niya.

“A hatchery is where fish and shellfish are spawned, hatched and cared for. They remain at the hatchery until they are large enough to be transferred to a fish or shellfish farm or released into the wild as part of a stock enhancement program,” paliwanag pa ng senador.