The pandemic has limited the exposure of students to field activities that are relevant in enhancing their theoretical knowledge. In the effort to augment this, the fourth-year students of the College of Fisheries in Central Luzon State University (CF-CLSU) conducted an educational tour in Anda, Alaminos and Sual, Pangasinan on May 1-3, 2023.
This educational tour was anchored on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as promoting the sustainable use of marine resources (SDG 14: Life Below Water), and ensuring quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities (SDG 4: Quality Education) for its students.
During the educational tour, the students under the course Coastal Resource Management were able to practice assessment of seagrass and associated marine organisms using combined transect line and quadrat sampling methodologies. Seagrass beds are sources of food and shelter for many marine organisms. Meanwhile, for students enrolled in Navigation and Seamanship, the students experienced actual hands-on to read the compass and adjust the given traverse using the data obtained from actual field work.
The students were also updated with the technologies in the Regional Mariculture Technology Demonstration Center (RMaTDeC) – Lucap of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Regional Office I. The various activities and implemented protocols in the operation of hatcheries of marine organisms including sea cucumber, sea urchin, abalone, and siganid were discussed to the students. Methods on seaweed tissue culture and natural food production, which are an integral part of hatchery operations, were also explained to the students.
Moreover, the students were able to explore the Marine Biotoxin Laboratory where analysis of harmful algal blooms is conducted. Additionally, the students visited the Broodstock Development Project of BFAR-RMaTDeC in Carias Island satellite station at the Hundred Islands National Park. This project maintains and produces stocks of siganids, abalone, milkfish, sea urchin, sea cucumber, pompano, and seaweed.
Also, the students were oriented on the grow-out culture of marine finfishes such as milkfish and pompano by CF-CLSU alumni employed at Tierra Del Norte Realty Corporation in Sual, Pangasinan.
