President Rody Duterte has given his clearance and blessing to the the planned voyage of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) to the 13-million hectare Philippine Rise, also known as the Benham Rise, scheduled on May 5 to 7.
The expedition, which I will personally lead along with Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), will be composed of the Research Vessel MV DA-BFAR which will serve as the mother ship and at least four more smaller DA-BFAR vessels and about a dozen FB Pagbabago fiberglass fishing boats manned by Filipino fishermen.
“Go ahead and discover what could be done to protect the area,” President Duterte said in his instructions to the DAF Secretary during a meeting in Malacañang Wednesday night.
The expedition will set sail from Infanta, Quezon where 38-footer FB Pagbabago fiberglass fishing boats will be awarded to poor Filipino fisher folks who will then join the flotilla bound for the Philippine Rise.
The Philippine Rise or Benham Rise is a submerged continental shelf located east of Luzon and is estimated to be about 13-million hectares.
Mainly coral formations with the shallow portion estimated to be 50-meter deep, the Philippine Rise was declared by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as part of the Philippine Continental Shelf.
Scientists and environmentalists have made expeditions to the area and declared the Philippine Rise as a rich fishing ground which could sustain the needs of the country in the years to come if properly protected and managed.
There were also reports that the area may be a rich source of oil and gas but suggestions to conduct energy explorations in the area have been opposed by environmentalists.
In the most shallow portion of the Philippine Rise, the mother ship DA=BFAR will drop anchor and members of the expedition and the fishermen will set up fish sheds or “Payao”.
Accredited divers’ and environmental groups who would like to join the expedition are requested to coordinate with the DA-BFAR.
The Philippine Rise expedition was earlier scheduled during the Holy Week but a Low Pressure Area spotted in the Eastern Part of the country during the time resulted in the deferment of the voyage.
(Photos of the DA-BFAR mother ship and smaller DA-BFAR boats downloaded from public websites.)
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