A project proposal of P500 million ($10.4 million) has been presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by the municipal government of Carmen to develop the Carmen Integrated Aquaculture Park (CIAP) in Davao Norte. The proposal was handed to President Arroyo by Municipal Vice Mayor Alberto L. Sarin in Koronadal City last week during the 111th Philippine Independence Day. Bahrain has expressed interest in investing $12 million for shrimp production, Provincial Fishery Officer Mohammed Jailani said. CIAP encompasses 745 hectares of waterlogged land including barangays Ising, New Camiling, Tuganay, San Isidro and Salvacion. “These areas cannot be planted with rice because they are always inundated but they can become productive if turned into fishponds,” Sarin said. With the technical assistance of the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and other groups, the Carmen municipality was able to devise the project proposal. It describes the benefits of investing the capital for a road network along CIAP as well as the construction of dikes and fishponds. Along with hito and tilapia, CIAP would provide a fit spawning ground for pangasius, which usually goes for P200 ($4.15) per kg. “If this can be done in Carmen, it would generate employment and income for our [fish] farmers,” Carmen Mayor Marcelino Perandos said referring to the production of pangasius.
