BIMP-EAGA Holds High Value Aquaculture Conference
GENERAL SANTOS, THE
PHILIPPINES, May 2010 - OFFICIALS of the fisheries department from
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have gathered in General
Santos city, Mindanao for the first-ever Bimp-Eaga Business Conference
on High Value Aquaculture
A statement from the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) said
that the three-day conference is focused on promoting and improving high
value aquaculture in the sub-region. "The conference was a response from
Bimp-Eaga governments' directive to create a joint venture on fisheries
in the sub-region," said Medco earlier this week. Besides that, the
conference also aimed to strengthen immediate steps and generate
involvement from all stakeholders in the Eaga region.
"High value aquaculture has been identified as one of the areas of
collaboration by the Bimp-Eaga Fisheries Working Group along with tuna,
sardines and seaweed," the statement said. This first-time conference
will also try to increase and expand private enterprises on high-value
aquaculture in the region through active promotion of joint ventures
between and among Eaga members, investment and trading, and export of
high-value seafood to target markets.
Trade and investment opportunities in the aquaculture sector from among
the Bimp-Eaga countries are hoped to be present in the talks along with
best practices and recent breakthroughs on high-value aquaculture
farming and marketing. At the end of the conference, a plan of action
for high value aquaculture sector in the growth-area will be drawn up
including business proposals through the business matching sessions. The
statement said that the topics to be discussed include global market
opportunities for high-value aquaculture, economic potentials related to
environment conservation of the Coral Triangle, as well as business
potentials of the abalone industry, seaweeds and grouper.
Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has advised stakeholders of the
aquaculture region to sustain and maintain good environmental
conservation programmes which will result in improved business in the
sector.
"The aquaculture industry will certainly sustain through environmental
conservation," said Dr Jose A Ingles of WWF in a report from the
Philippine News Agency. Ingles, one of the speakers, said that the
crisis on dwindling tuna stocks was mainly due to over-fishing
instigated by the loss of bio-diversity and natural capital like coral
reefs and mangroves.
Ingles reminded that it is every man's duty to preserve the ecosystem by
acting responsibly while ensuring the sustainablility of supply, hence,
business sustainability.
The four-member countries resolved to bolster environmental conservation
for better market access and strengthen cost-effective systems on energy
and water usage for savings in operations that would produce good
profit. The three-day summit is expected to come up with a common
direction leading to the preservation of ecosystem in what used to be
rich aquaculture areas in the borders of four Asian countries.
- Courtesy of
the Brunei Times -
