The Department of Agriculture (DA) has launched a program to stock fingerlings of indigenous and non-invasive fish species in major river basins and lakes over the next five years. The Balik Sigla sa Ilog at Lawa (BASIL) project, part of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ National Inland Fisheries Enhancement Program, hopes to revitalize inland bodies of water which “no longer have the same amount of fish population as they had many years ago” due to the use of chemicals in agriculture and illegal fishing methods,” according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol. He said the department has identified seven major lakes and six major river basins all over the country as the initial areas targeted for the fingerlings spawning project.

Lim, J. (2017, April 25). DA plans to restock lakes, rivers with fingerlings. BusinessWorld, p. S1/4.