THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will ask the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to establish a “fish zone” where farmers can grow ornamental fish and have a choice of what specific variety or species they want to grow.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), an attached agency of the DA, said the establishment of the fish zone is also meant to encourage some 30,000 to 35,000 dwellers near the Laguna de Bay to consider the growing of ornamental fish as an alternative livelihood.

The BFAR disclosed that the government needs to provide dwellers in Laguna de Bay an alternative livelihood as the Fisheries Code, or Republict Act 8550, stipulates that fishermen can only practice aquaculture production in 10 percent of the lake’s area.

“What we lost in the area, we can recover in value,” said BFAR Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento in a press briefing Wednesday.

Sarmiento said growing koi fish alone would enable fishermen or other small entrepreneurs to earn a minimum of P12,000 a month.

To encourage fishermen to go into ornamental-fish production, the BFAR chief said his agency is willing to provide free fingerlings.

Wilson Y. Ang, president of pet- shop firm Bio-Research, disclosed that the growing of ornamental fish can be a profitable venture.

“There is a huge potential in ornamental fish trade for the Philippines because we don’t have to contend with the sanitary and phytosanitary measures, since the fish would not be ingested,” said Ang.

Sarmiento, for his part, said the global ornamental-fish trade is currently estimated at $500 million, but the Philippines has only managed to capture 3 percent of this.

“The ornamental-fish industry in the Philippines is a fledging industry. Eventually, we hope to capture about 10 percent of the global market for ornamental fish,” he said.

The DA earlier noted that ornamental fish-keeping is now a worldwide hobby. Existing foreign markets for ornamental fish are the United Kingdom, France, Japan, the United States and Germany as well as emerging ones in Eastern Europe, China and India.

Aside from koi, other popular ornamental fish are the guppy, molly tetra, angelfish and discus.

Most freshwater tropical fish sold to hobbyists around the world come from South America and Africa.

Several Asian countries, however, have recently developed multimillion-dollar industries from breeding freshwater tropical fish and exporting these to the US, Canada and Europe.

The DA earlier noted that Singapore exported ornamental fish worth $49.5 million in 2004, or 16 percent more than what was exported in 2003.

CLARK FREE PORT—A Korean company is set to invest at least $70 million for the development of a condominium-type hotel, water-theme-park resort and casino complex at this sprawling free port.

DAVAO CITY—The country’s power rate and real-estate cost are the common subjects of whining from foreign investors, although most of them end up still putting up their businesses here, the Board of Investments (BOI) said.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will ask the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to establish a “fish zone” where farmers can grow ornamental fish and have a choice of what specific variety or species they want to grow.

AS part of the campaign to promote malunggay, the lowly veggie’s products and by-products will be showcased in three-day exhibit at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

IN an effort to address the growing demand for a technically skilled work force in a competitive global market, Cisco Networking Academy has expanded its curriculum in information technology (IT).

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has engaged in massive seedling production of assorted tree species in Basilan province.

VIGILANT consumers are made by strong education and information.

Thus, this year’s Consumer Month Celebration in October is “Education and Information: Keys to Consumer Empowerment” with the Department of the Education (DepEd) hosting this year’s festivities.