SEAFDEC/AQD Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center | Aquaculture Department
The Management Committee of SEAFDEC/AQD and senior representatives of the relevant Philippine Government institutions (Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Bureau of Agricultural Research; Department of Foreign Affairs; and University of the Philippines in the Visayas) gathered on 16 October in Makati City for the 24th Meeting of the Philippine Technical Administrative Committee (PTAC). PTAC comprises the high level representatives of relevant Philippine Government agencies and is tasked to provide close coordination between the host government and SEAFDEC with regard to the operations of AQD.
The meeting was convened to review the accomplishments of AQD in 2014 (R&D Programs, and Administration and Finance) and plans for 2015, for endorsement to the SEAFDEC Program Committee and the Philippine Government, and to discuss the pressing issues that concern the operations of AQD. This year’s PTAC meeting was chaired by SEAFDEC Alternate Council Director for Philippines and BFAR Assistant Director for Technical Services, Mrs. Drusila Esther Bayate.
PTAC noted the significant progress on AQD’s R&D programs in 2014 and endorsed its 2015 planned activities, including the proposed budget for 2016. The Committee also gave the following recommendations on R&D activities which include: (i) giving preference to the use of FCE which shows calculations on the usage of fish from the wild being converted into fish meal/fish oil; (ii) assessing the impacts of aquaculture activities in actual commercial aquaculture farms; (iii) coming up with a mechanism that will assess the impacts or the success of the technological interventions used by AQD to address the issue on poverty alleviation; (iv) applying a monitoring system in AQD’s training and ABOT programs to assess the effectiveness in terms of transfer of knowledge and skills to targeted clientele. With regard to the proposed budget in 2016, PTAC noted the suggestions given to SEAFDEC/AQD and to BFAR, as SEAFDEC’s focal agency in order to make a strong case or justifications for the requested budget increase.
