CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Fish production through mariculture technology has become a prospect for hundreds of stakeholders in the fishery industry in Mindanao, following the conduct of a two-day symposium on the said technology here last week.
The Oro Chamber of Commerce in tandem with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) conducted from August 26 to 27 the 1st Mindanao Techno Forum on Mariculture at the Chali Beach Resort here amid reports on growing consumer demand for live food fish locally and abroad.
Fish farmers, investors, mariculture experts, planners, and chamber of commerce leaders from across Mindanao attended the forum, which complemented decades-old initiatives to develop an integrated mariculture industry in the region, organizers said.
''The forum was timely held to meet the growing demands from ''more international seafood buyers (who) are turning to mariculture farms for a sustainable supply of popular marine species like grouper,'' GEM media specialist Nikki Meru said.
The symposium taught participating stakeholders on meeting the demands of expanding export market and at the same time helping conserve food fish stocks in the wild, Meru added.
