TUGUEGARAO CITY — A team of experts from various collaborating institutions recently explored identified key sampling sites in the provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte as part of a research-initiative in the establishment of a collaborative assessment of aquatic species that migrate from and in between freshwater and salt water environments in the country.
The research initiative with the title: “Preliminary Survey to Establish a Collaborative Research on Freshwater and Estuarine Fish Fauna of the Philippines: Toward Elucidation of the Larval Dispersal Mechanism of Diadromous Fish along the Kuroshio Current,” aims to deepen understanding on the movement of species from freshwater to saltwater environments or vice versa and update knowledge on the rich biodiversity of Philippine freshwater and estuarine fish species.
Conducted from November 24 to December 1, 2024, the survey highlights the importance of Cagayan Province, strategically located where the nutrient-rich Kuroshio Current passes through, a key marine highway for larval and distribution of seedstocks. Results of the study are essential for understanding the ecological processes that influence fish populations throughout Southeast Asia Region.
A joint endeavor of the fisheries Bureau and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, the team led by Dr. Ken Maeda, Staff Scientist, Marine-Eco-Eco-Devo Unit, OIST, was joined by other experts from Japan represented by Dr. Midori Iida, Associate Professor, Hokaido University; Dr. Hirozumi Kobayashi, Researcher/Curator (Ichthyology) at the Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba, Japan; and Dr. Herminie P. Palla of Western Philippines University, Palawan.
Meanwhile, the DA-BFAR 2 was represented by Dr. Emma L. Ballad and Ms. Jemimah T. Ziegler wherein, they assisted the team in the collection of fish samples from aquatic ecosystems in the municipalities of Enrile, Peñablanca, Aparri, Buguey, Sta. Teresita, Sta. Ana and Gonzaga.
Collected samples were studied and subjected for scientific procedures at the Aparri Brackishwater Technology Outreach Station, a fish production facility maintained by the DA-BFAR 2 for brackishwater species.
Other collaborating academic institutions include the Cagayan State University – Aparri Campus, Aparri, Cagayan and the Mariano Marcos State University in Curimao, Ilocos Norte. (J. T. Ziegler, Records Section)
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