EXACTLY four months since the last time they set foot in Balingasag Mariculture Park in Misamis Oriental for the stocking of bangus fingerlings, the Higaonon tribe from Sumilao, Bukidnon came back to harvest their produce, marketable size bangus grown in the marine fish cage.

BFAR Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento, in his message during the harvest, stressed this was the only sea cage project of indigenous people assisted by BFAR. It also shows that sea cage operations are not only for those living in coastal areas but could also benefit those in the mountains.

Commercial bangus production in the lowland is one of the components of the novel project of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources called Fish for Upland Dwellers (FishFUD) in collaboration with the LGU of Sumilao, Lumad Mindanao Social Enterprise Inc., East Asian Seas Transformation Initiative, and San Miguel Corporation.

FishFUD aims to address pressing problems in the upland area like protein deficiency and inadequate livelihood opportunities.

Aside from the fish cage, BFAR 10 shouldered the bangus fingerlings, 44 pieces HDPE boxes, and weighing scale during the marketing. BFAR 10 also provides technical assistance for the entire duration of the project.

During the harvest, the Higaonon Tribe members revealed it was their first time to eat freshly harvested bangus.

A portion of the 6.9 metric tons production was traded in Sumilao, Bukidnon and the rest were sold to Cagayan de Oro City.

The income derived from bangus will be used to finance upland livelihood project and part of the revenues will also be used for environmental initiatives like reforestation.

Having seen the activities in the lowlands, forest protection and conservation are expected to be instilled among the indigenous people as they saw the relationship between the forest and the sea, whatever they do in the mountains would affect the coastal areas.

Another component of the project is the commercial fish production in ancestral domains where the IPs will engage in tilapia culture in a pond.

Fingerlings will be provided by BFAR-10’s Kisolon Freshwater Fish Production and Regional Training Center. (Press release)