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SAN JOSE, Antique – Fisherfolks play a vital role in attaining food security in Antique, stressed Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) member Fernando Corvera, chairperson of the committee on agriculture and fisheries.
“We hope that agencies of government, local government units and other sectors collectively support initiatives for the betterment of marginal fisherfolks,” Corvera said during the provincial conference of the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Management Council (MFARMC) here.
Antique has 15 coastal communities with 169 coastal barangays and 44,247 fishing households directly or indirectly depend on fishing as their main sources of income, data from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) showed.
Aside from the abundance of fishes, the province’ fishery resources include coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, seaweeds/algae among others.
Robert Espinosa, regional fisheries training and fisherfolk coordinator of BFAR-6, said the province has a total of 119 fisherfolk organizations and of these, 109 are duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment, nine with the Securities and Exchange Commission and one registered with the Cooperative Development Authority.
Registered fisherfolks have an edge in terms of government assistance. The MFARMC could be a venue for the marginalized fisherfolk communities to express their needs and access government assistance, said Espinosa.
During the conference, representatives of MFARMC stressed the need to have livelihood assistance for fishing communities.
The MFARMC Provincial Conference tackled amendments of the Fishery Code or Republic Act 10654 and other issues affecting the Fishery Sector attended by more than 100 fisherfolks from different towns in the province. (PIA-Antique/PN)
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