Scientists
invade Taal
Talisay Batangas, March 1 1999
Scientists from the European Commission
descend on Taal Lake this week, not to study the volcano, but to survey
the economic and social benefits that the lake can provide to the rural
populace, as well as the national economy.
Project coordinator Nan Duncan of the
Royal Holloway Institute for Environmental Research, a college of the University
of London, explained that the two year FISHSTRAT project's aim is to develop
strategies to harmoniously maximise the number of fishpens in the lake,
while ensuring that there will be no significant adverse environmental
impact. This in turn, will allow local fishermen to continue catching the
prized Maliputo and Tawilis, under set limits, and guarantee that the rural
fish catching industry, and also subsistence fishermen, will be able to
co-exist with the fish cages.
The University of the Philippines Institute
of Biology has already been working on the project for several months,
using facilities of the Department of fisheries in Ambulong, Talisay,
Batangas.
Baywatch, a local NGO, headed by former
Presidential Legal Adviser Antonio Carpio, is backing the project with
the use of their research vessel, the Bora-Bora.
The Taal Lake Yacht Club has also made
its facilities available to the group.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine research
and Development (PCAMRD) are collaborating with UPinstitute of Biology
to ensure the sucess of the project.
The fishstrat group
assigned to scan the depths to record the current endemic fish population
gets set to board the Bora -Bora at Taal Lake Yacht Club.
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/michigan/642/fishstrat.html
Webpage courtesy of:
TAAL LAKE YACHT CLUB, PHILIPPINES
