ILOILO CITY, (PNA) – The Banate Bay Resource Management Council, Inc. (BBRMCI), overseer of Panay Island's largest fishing ground, Banate Bay, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have cited the Department of Agriculture (DA) for preserving and protecting the Visayan seas.

BBRMCI awarded the citation in a brief ceremony at the Iloilo Grand Hotel, along with other government agencies, fisher folks and local government unit-partners.

Ric Saltin, Regional Crop Protection Center chief, representing the DA during the event, said the citation was a testament to DA’s unwavering support and programs in protecting the livelihood of fisher folks in the region.

Saltin said the DA had been the lead agency in various livelihood programs intended for fisher folks in Banate Bay Area and other municipalities in the region.

He also said that the DA had been conducting training and providing technical and financial assistance to fisher folk organizations.

DA Regional Director Larry Nacionales said the Department’s mandate includes the protection of marine ecology and providing alternative sources of income for fisher folks in the region like those who fish in the Banate Bay area.

Also cited for their successful collaboration were the offices of the Municipal Agriculture Office of the municipalities of Anilao, Banate and Barotac Viejo.

Barotac Viejo Mayor Raul C. Tupas said the municipalities along Banate Bay has been very active in their role to protect their fishing grounds from illegal and dynamite fishing.