To address the declining supply of blue swimming crab, the provincial government built a crab hatchery in the municipality of Concepcion located at Northern Iloilo State University (NISU).
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. led the blessing and inauguration of the facility on August 31, 2023. Other attendees include Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, Provincial Agriculture Office chief Dr. Ildefonso Toledo, Mayor Milliard Villanueva, SB Members Mark Villaruz and Nean Gregorio, Dr. Marjorie Villanueva of NISU, SEAFDEC AQD Chief Dan Baliao, Dr. Roger Edward Mamauag of SEAFDEC, and Dr. Erwin Ilaya of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Iloilo, among others.
Provincial Agriculture Office chief Dr. Ildefonso Toledo the facility costs P5 million and was constructed in 2018 during the administration of former governor Arthur Defensor Jr. The present administration assumed the project and has allotted roughly P3 million for the fencing and other support equipment.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed a decrease in the production of blue swimming crabs in Iloilo Province from 5,282.79 metric tons in 2020 to 4,808.98 in 2021.
Aside from increasing the stocks of crab, Dr. Toledo said the facility could also serve as a learning hub for Fishery students to help them become industry-ready when they graduate.
Governor Defensor said the facility is an important facet of the province’s overall program and initiatives for the conservation and management of the Visayan Sea, adding that he hopes the province can do the same with other species.
“In the Iloilo provincial government, we see crab as a commodity. For us, fundamentally, it is a source of protein. And together with other products of the sea, we want to develop our capability to practically add (in the conservation of the Visayan Sea),” he said.
Furthermore, the provincial government is collaborating with SEAFDEC and the universities and colleges in Iloilo to develop a research and development program and one important subject is fisheries. (Capitol news)
