14 fish hatcheries to rise as Senate passes bills

The Senate on Monday, January 31, 2022, approved on third and final reading 14 bills seeking the establishment of marine hatcheries in 12 provinces.

With a vote of 21-0-0, the Senate passed local bills seeking the establishment of marine hatcheries in different parts of the country, namely, House Bill No. (HBN) 7435 (Libon, Albay); HBN 7544 (Sta. Lucia, Puerto Princesa, Palawan); HBN 7547 (Batad, Iloilo); HBN 7691 (Basilisa, Dinagat Islands); HBN 9933 (Calbayog, Samar); HBN 9934 (San Jose, Northern Samar); HBN 9935 (Samal, Davao del Norte); HBN 9936 (Basey, Samar); HBN 9937 (Carmen and Braulio E. Dujati, Davao del Norte); HBN 9938 (Bombon, Camarines Sur); HBN 9939 (Tibiao, Antique); HBN 9940 (San Jose, Occidental Mindoro); HBN 9941 (Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija; and HBN 9942 (Bagac, Bataan).

Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform and sponsor of the measures, stressed the importance of multi-species marine hatcheries in ensuring sustainable supply of marine products.

"We have a lot of catching up to do to support our fishing industry. Otherwise, we will compromise our food security. The hatcheries shall help solve the problem of dwindling fish supply in our country and secure the livelihood of small fishermen in the municipal waters," Villar said.

Villar noted that fisheries in the Philippines make a significant contribution to the national economy in terms of income and employment. In 2018, the total fish production was estimated at 4.61 million metric tons and the fisheries sector contributed US$4.9 billion to the country's economy in 2018.

However, Villar added, compared to other Southeast Asian nations, the Philippines is only No. 4 in marine capture after Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar; No. 5 in inland municipal water fishery output compared to Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam; and No. 3 with regard to aqua culture production after Indonesia and Vietnam.

"The building of more hatchery facilities to improve the country's fish farming capability is one of the long-term solutions to improve productivity. The country's traditional fishing grounds are getting overfished and the government needs to create breeding grounds and hatcheries to help arrest the dwindling fish stock," Villar added.

Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" F. Zubiri, Sens. Sonny Angara, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, and Joel Villanueva were made co-sponsors of House Bill Nos. 7691, 9934, 9935, 9936, 9937, 9938, 9939, 9940, 9941, and 9942. All senators present during the passage on second reading of House Bill Nos. 7435, 7544, and 7547 were made co-sponsors of the bills.