The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) launches its two brand new offshore vessels.
This is made by Filipinos and can be considered of high quality as it complies with the international standard.
It also has high performance radars for surveillance of seas and sonar scanner that can be used for fisheries research and seabed mapping.
DA-BFAR will use these new vessels for the monitoring of illegal fishing in the country’s economic zone. It may also be used for relief goods delivery in areas hit by calamities.
The vessels will begin patrolling in the West Philippine Sea and Philippine Rise in October.
It primarily aims to drive away illegal fishermen that fish in seas part of the Philippines.
The BFAR says the Philippines losses an annual of $115 billion in marine resources due to illegal fishing.
Department of Agriculture secretary Manuel Piñol and Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana spearheaded the launching ceremony of the two new vessels.
Sec. Piñol said that the MMOV's will be manned by Philippine Coastguard personnel so they could arrest or drive away illegal poachers.
The new vessels are Php250 million each.
And since it is Philippine-made, the government saved a lot of money.
According to secretary Piñol The vessel would cost Php750 million if bought from overseas, that will be equivalent to three ships if built locally.
Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana hopes such a project would continue in helping monitor Philippine territories.
"If we can create five of this every year and we can fill the.. we can protect our maritime resources. Including Benham Rise, it is really big. We have to protect that, because that is the future of the Filipino people" secretary Lorenzana said.
Secretary Piñol asks for an additional budget worth one billion pesos for 2018 for the construction of additional four ships.
No comments:
Post a Comment