TARLAC CITY – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) distributed P430,000 worth of fisheries livelihood equipment to fisherfolks in Capas, Tarlac.
A total of five cooperatives each received a Live Fish Transport Package or bakulingling, which costs P75,000 and is made of one cubic meter fiber glass reinforced fish tank designed to store fish and maintain their freshness.
BFAR Regional Director Wilfredo Cruz, the proponent of bakulingling design, explained that the equipment will help vendors market their products in the street for long hours without compromising quality.
“Marketing channels is one of the problems of tilapia growers because they want to sell their products right after harvest,” he stated.
Each unit of bakulingling includes 50 kilos of tilapia to jump-start the respective businesses of the beneficiaries.
“The instruction of our President [and Agriculture Secretary Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] is to lower the importation and increase our production. Rest assured that our people can rely on our fish production because we [Central Luzon] have 110 percent fish sufficiency according to the Philippine Statistics Authority,” he explained.
Meanwhile, a cooperative of fish pond operators in the municipality likewise received P60,000 worth of fisheries livelihood composed of gill nets, solar lamps and 50,000 tilapia fingerlings.
For her part, Tarlac Provincial Fisheries Officer Lanie Lamyong explained that the livelihood aid aims to intensify support to fisherfolk, and improve the fish quality and production in a landlocked province like Tarlac.
