Taiwanese to invest in pearl farming in Sorsogon town

This development is a result of an intensive research conducted by the Bicol University (BU) on the feasibility and viability of a massive pearl farming venture off the coasts of Sorsogon Bay and Ticao Pass that belong to the 126-hectare fish sanctuary and marine reserve within the municipal waters here.

Initial findings of the BU through its Research and Development Center based at its Legazpi City main campuses have it that a vast portion of the municipal waters here is natural bed of two species of pearl-producing bivalves, Dr. Deonel Dioneda, its head marine scientist said over the weekend.

These stocks of pearl-producing oyster called white lip oyster (Pinctada maxima) and wing oyster (Pteria penguin) that are rare among other local marine territories across the archipelago could sustain a long-range large scale production of south sea pearl that is very much in demand among domestic and international jewelers.

This marine property is complemented by coral reefs, seagrasses and seaweeds, mangrove communities and mud and sand flats that serve as refuge, nursery, breeding, spawning and feeding areas of many economically-important organisms, both terrestrial and aquatic, Dioneda said.

Those natural ecological habitats, he said, play crucial roles such as coastal protection, water filtration, buffering against violent wave actions and many other ecological functions that make the area ideal for sustainable development activities.

Mayor Renato Laurinaria said, the area has already been placed by the local government under its management through a fish sanctuary and marine reserve declaration so that "it could meet the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs".

Source: Balita