AN upcoming aquatic research project between Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University and Hokkaido University (HU), which are both based in Japan, and the Ilocos Norte-based Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) will examine how ocean currents influence fish larval movement and their ecological impact on biodiversity conservation. As a possible consequence of this study, high-value freshwater fish will become more available in the market for public consumption.
The project will study larval dispersal patterns and compare fish populations across the East and West coasts of Northern Luzon, Palawan, Taiwan and Japan. According to Jesslyn Keith Valite of the MMSU Strategic Communication Office, the project proposes that fish larvae from the Philippines are carried by ocean currents to Taiwan and eventually to Japan.
Titled “Freshwater and Estuarine Fish Fauna of the Philippines: Toward Elucidating the Larval Dispersal Mechanism of Diadromous Fish Along the Kuroshio Current,” it will start in 2025. The research will give baseline information on the biodiversity of diadromous fish species in Northern Luzon determining the integrity of its population, while leading to the discovery of new goby species in our rivers and estuaries.
Ken Maeda, OIST staff scientist, and Midori Iida, HU professor, met with MMSU College of Aquatic Sciences and Applied Technology-OIC Dean Ernesto del Rosario Jr., MMSU Fisheries Department Chairman Marjorie Ramos and fisheries faculty members on Nov. 29.
The research will be used for policy formulation, conservation and utilization. Afterward, “regeneration as well as repopulation of endemic species will be observed which will balance increase and improve catch of the fishermen in the estuaries and rivers,” said del Rosario.
MMSU faculty members and students will assist with data collection, sampling and monitoring throughout the research.
The research project will receive support from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, and “be funded by the Nagao Natural Environment Foundation, a Japanese nongovernmental organization focused on nature conservation and human resource development,” Valite said.
Valite added that Maeda’s research follows a similar initiative he conducted in Palawan from 2015 to 2019, which “provided valuable insights into larval dispersal and its implications for biodiversity conservation in the region.
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