BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental 3rd District’s Cong. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez reiterated full support for the fisheries sector and its stakeholders during the planning workshop of the Negros 3rd District Coastal Resources Management and Development Council (N3DCRMDC) held on March 18 in Talisay City under the auspices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Fish Right Program.
Benitez said the sector needs critical attention as resources are notably declining brought about by several causes, and it is a welcome move to be working together with an urgency.
With the guidance of the USAID Fish Right Program, the N3DCRMDC that brought together representatives of the four coastal areas in the 3rd District – namely, Victorias, EB Magalona, Silay, and Talisay – an eco-system approach to fisheries management is now in the planning stage, targeting to improve management of coastal resources through closer cooperation, coordination and convergence.
The one-day planning activity included presentations on the following:
* coastal habitats by the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO)
* fisheries resources profile by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
* Coastal Monitoring and Vulnerability Assessment System (CMVAS) developed by a team from the Carlos Hilado Memorial State College
The workshop also tackled fisheries’ socioeconomic status and existing programs; stakeholder analysis; and an assessment on illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
The USAID Fish Right Team that led the planning workshop included Andrea Leonor Barcelona, coordinator for Visayan Area; Atty. James Kho and Atty. Wilmon Penalosa.
Coordinating the activity was N3CRMDC executive director Eduardo Fuentebella.
In December 2019 the alliance of local government units for the restoration and conservation of fisheries and aquatic resources in the 3rd District was formalized with the signing of a memorandum of agreement fully supported by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Congressman Benitez , concerned national agencies, provincial offices, the academe and the non-government organizations.
The Council is chaired by Victorias City’s Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca, also the president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (ACE), Inc./PN
