Ampatuan signs executive order to develop fisheries in ARMM

Cotabato City - Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan has ordered the creation of a technical working group (TWG) to work on a comprehensive plan to develop sustainable fisheries in the region.

Signed on June 22, 2009, Executive Order 03 or “An Act Creating the Technical Working Group (TWG) in the Formulation of the Comprehensive Regional Fisheries Development Plan (CRFDP) in ARMM” designates the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF)-ARMM as chair of the TWG with the Regional Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (RBFAR)-ARMM as vice-chair.

Member agencies include the Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Bureau of Public Information (BPI), Regional Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (RFARMC) and the Technical Management Services of the Office of the Regional Governor. The TWG will also include representatives from the private sector particularly from the municipal fisheries, commercial fisheries, post-harvest and aquaculture.

The CRFDP will serve as “framework for the protection, utilization, development and management of the region’s fisheries and aquatic resources”. It will also enumerate means to enhance the region’s efforts to develop its halal food industry.

Developing the region’s agriculture is crucial to ARMM’s effort to become the country’s halal industry hub, Ampatuan said.

The formulation of the CRFDP is in compliance to Article IV, Section 7 of Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 86 (MMA Act 86) or the “ARMM Aquatic and Fisheries Code of 1999” and the Comprehensive National Fisheries Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP) adopted in 2008.

Agri-fishery in the region remains at a very productive level. The latest data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) show that ARMM leads other regions in the country in terms of agri-fishery and seaweeds production.

DAF-ARMM Secretary Keise Usman said the plan would ensure that fisheries in the region will remain at a healthy and productive level. “We will see to it that increase in production would not exhaust our natural resources,” he said.

Among the primary tasks of the TWG would be the preparation of “policies, plans, programs and projects for the development of the fishery industry.”###