Shrimp production in Davao under threat

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By Antonio L. Colina IV, Manila Bulletin

Davao City –  Shrimp production in Davao Region is under threat due to the unpredictable weather patterns brought about by climate change.

This was disclosed by Anders Haagen, a co-owner of the Anderlude Seafoods Corp., who said that the unpredictable patterns of the weather concern have affected the production of shrimps in their three locations in the region – Dumoy in Davao City, Sta. Cruz and Hagonoy in Davao del Sur.

The firm is the largest shrimp producer in the region and the only one into processing of shrimp.

“There is climate change. If we are only a farmer, then you can’t control the climate and we have experienced a lot more rain lately, we experienced a lot of things. It makes it more risky and more dangerous to be the farmer alone,” he said.

His firm opened the first processing plant of shrimp in the region located at the state-owned Davao Fish Port Complex in a fishing barangay of Daliao, Toril in Davao City last Friday.

He said they had invested into this new undertaking to “spread out our risk a little bit” by also participating in the processing that would also add value to the products.

“But when you process, your risk profile is much lower. If it rains for two much, we don’t care. We don’t lose the whole harvest, so it’s a much more predictable business, and more predictable means more manageable,” he said.

He said their company produced about 1,000 tons of shrimps that were sold directly to markets around the region, and in Manila, and they were expecting around 800 to 1,000 tons of shrimp to produce within the year.

His partner, Ludevito S. Batilong, the president of Anderlude Seafoods Corp., said no plans for export are being considered at present because they want to satisfy the domestic demand first.

He said Davao City’s demand alone ranges from 5 to 10 tons a day and their company is shipping about 10 containers, or 140 to 180 tons every month to Manila.

He said they have 127 hectares of shrimp farms – 45 hectares in Dumoy, Davao City and 14 hectares in Sta. Cruz and 68 hectares in Hagonoy in Davao del Sur.

The two started with only two hectares of shrimp nursery.

Haagen said the outbreak of avian flu in San Luis, Pampanga will increase the demand for seafood.

The Beauties of Bohol

FUNFARE By Ricky Lo (The Philippine Star) 

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Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto and wife Pureza Veloso award the 2017 Miss Bohol winners, from left: Bianca Gaviola (Barangay Tagbilaran City, third runner-up); Gazini Christiana Jordi (Barangay Loon, first runner-up); Pauline Amelinckx (Barangay Tubigon, winner); Angelika Concha (Barangay Calape, second runner-up); and Maria Andrea Cuarteros (Barangay Jagna, fourth runner-up)

Aside from the serenity of the Chocolate Hills (back to original shape after a killer quake ruined some of them), the leisurely cruise along the Loboc River (turned enchanting by color-changing lights along both banks, donated by the family of Ben Chan) and the deepening mystery of the widening eyes of the Tarsier (the longer you gaze into them), Bohol boasts of natural beauties that easily disarm a visitor with pristine smiles.

Described as “natural” because they are presumed to be untouched by cosmetic surgery, 20 of those beauties (the same number of barangays) competed for the 2017 Miss Bohol title, parading before a panel of “beauty-expert” judges composed of Renee Salud; director Tony Reyes; Presidential Legal Adviser Salvador Panelo; Boholana actress Rich Asuncion; Air Asia Commercial head Gerard Penaflor; and reigning queens Mariel de Leon (Bb. Pilipinas-International), Karen Ibasco (Miss Philippines-Earth) and Mary Ann Mungcal (Miss Global Philippines).

The candidates were serenaded by StarStruck discovery Migo Adecer who acknowledged the ladies with a stem of red rose each after a well-applauded song number. Properly trained, Migo could develop into a charming performer, just wait and see.

After the two-hour pageant hosted by 2009 Miss Earth Sandra Seifert and Vince Velasco (son of STARsports columnist Bill Velasco), declared winner was Pauline Amelinckx (from Barangay Tubigon), a 20-year-old Fil-Belgian fresh International Studies graduate from Cebu Doctors Hospital, who is a deadringer for Bea Alonzo. Her runners-up: Gazini Christiana Jordi Ganados (Loon), first; Angelika Concha (Calape), second; Bianca Gaviola (Tagbilaran), third; and Maria Andrea Cuarteros (Jagna), fourth.

Asked how she felt being at the other end of the stage this time, Mariel admitted that she was as nervous as she was during the Bb. Pilipinas pageant.

“Like during the pageant,” said Mariel, “the hardest part was the Q&A. I picked Miss Tubigon because she knew what she wanted to say and she said it well, very natural, neither rehearsed nor scripted.”

Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Now preparing for Ang Panday, her movie debut for the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) produced, written, directed and starred in by Coco Martin, Mariel clarified that she never said she didn’t want to go into acting (she’s more inclined toward classical singing). Why the, uhm, change of mind?

“I’ve never really closed my door to showbiz. The opportunity is too big to turn down,” added the daughter of Christopher de Leon and Sandy Andolong. “My parents are happy for me because they really wanted me to be in showbiz.”

Mariel is two inches taller than Coco. Wouldn’t there be any height problem between them?

“Sana wala,” Mariel smiled. “Otherwise, that can be easily remedied.”

A star material herself (paging Star Cinema, Viva Films and Regal Films!), Miss Bohol Pauline (an only child) was born in Belgium where she finished prep school and kindergarten. Her Belgian father moved the family to the Philippines where he chose to retire. Pauline studied high school in Iligan City before proceeding to college in Cebu, initially enrolling for Medical Technology course (“Not my line”) before shifting to International Studies.

“I wanted to work as a flight attendant because I love to travel until I changed my mind,” she said. “And now I want to join foreign service.” That is, unless a movie company “snatches” her.

Incidentally, another Boholana beauty, Lola Primitiva Veloso celebrated her 90th birthday with family members who flew to Tagbilaran from abroad and other places in the country on July 23, the day after the Miss Bohol pageant. Lola Priming is a retired teacher. Rich Asuncion attended the party with her two younger siblings. Nice to learn that she had their family house renovated and her parents’ fish business is thriving. 

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2017 Bb. Pilipinas-International Mariel de Leon, one of the judges…

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)      

Our children’s mother earth

WED, AUGUST 23, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

By KLAUS DÖRING

Yes, it’s again the topic, we should really think about. Also here in the Philippines. Ok, here’s anew string of examples, my dear readers. But, don’t expect good news.

Greenland, the great island is being called already the Land of Ice being on fire. Why? A recent report says the Arctic may be ice-free by 2040. The Antarctic is also melting, albeit far slower, and in a less regular pattern.

The Arctic is melting much faster than expected, and could even be ice-free in summer by the late 2030’s, a report from the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program suggests. Previous studies had forecast an ice-free North Pole in summer by mid-century. Wow.

While the outlook is bleak for the Arctic, there is a silver lining for the Antarctic: As I said before, the ice is melting at a slower rate than previously thought. Although glacier flow has increased since the 1990’s, scientists from University of Leeds have found the melting rate to be only around a third of what was previously projected. A section of a glacier in Greenland is seen from NASA’s Operation IceBridge research aircraft along the Upper Baffin Bay coast on March 27, 2017.

Operation IceBridge studies the processes that link the polar regions with the Earth’s climate system. Rapidly changing polar ice means researchers need to use highly sophisticated airborne technology to measure annual changes in thickness and movement – onboard a retrofitted 1966 Lock-heed P-3 aircraft.

But the Antarctic is still melting. And a rapidly advancing crack in its fourth-largest ice shelf could soon see one of the largest icebergs ever recorded in human history break off into the sea. Scientists agree that global warming causes both the ice in the North and the South Pole to melt. Air temperatures are climbing, and so are water temperatures. This makes the ice melt faster. The period of winter where the water is actually cold enough to freeze is getting shorter, which means ice floes are getting smaller.

Greenland, home to the world’s largest permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica, is being swept by wildfires. Yes, the land of ice is on fire. A really breath away taking situation. Scientists say global warming and increased plant cover are likely factors. Since late July, wild-fires have raged across an ever-larger area of the landmass – and with greater intensity – than ever before observed.

Honestly folks, it really scares me although experts say it is too early to draw firm conclusions linking the fire to climate change be-cause no long-term data is available to put the blaze in context. However, unusually warm and dry conditions this year could have been a factor.

Let’s face this: “It’s unprecedented in the short 18-year observational record,” Jason Box, a climate scientist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, said in an interview with German TV yesterday. “We also know that temperatures in Greenland are probably higher [than they have been over] the last 800 years.” Wow again!

Although the origin of the blaze is unclear – with lightening and a stray cigarette as possible suspects – what is clear is how it has been spreading across remote areas of grassland and low shrub. Greenland’s is indeed getting greener and greener. It conjures images of white, frozen expanses. But Box says global warming means it’s getting greener all the time. “There’s a shorter snow-cover season, and that allows the plant life to expand,” he explained.

The Arctic is heating up around twice as fast as the global average. At the same time, rainfall around the world is also increasing – and that trend as well is more present in the Artic. “More rain is a widespread symptom of climate change,” Box said. “You get more precipitation – and where you get the biggest increase is in the Arctic.”

For Greenland, warmer, wetter conditions mean more vegetation – which, seemingly paradoxically, could be a factor for the fire. And my next question is: what will be the impact of these fires on the ice sheet and surrounding areas?

Fact is: Greenland’s ice sheets melt, that contri-butes to sea level rise. And if we add North- and South Pole and their vanishing ice and snow? Yes, also the Philippines are in danger. Not this year or next year. But … !

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