The SM Benthos Project (Assessment of the Benthic Resources of the Benham Bank Seamount) Conducts the Training on Fish Visual Surveys Using BRUVS and SeaGIS Software from April 20 until April 22 at SEARCA, UP Los Baños, Laguna.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquaculture, Forestry, Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) funded this three-day training, in cooperation with Oceana Philippines.

The training aims to demonstrate BRUVS (Baited Remote Underwater Video System), which will be used in fish visual surveys and analyze the data acquired using the SeaGIS software.

Atty. Gloria E. Ramos, Vice President of Oceana Philippines, said the BRUVS is an advance equipment for underwater exploration. “Our seas are pressured by both human and environmental threats… we would like to encourage more scientists to use these safe and harmless technologies to study our oceans”, said Atty. Ramos.

The BRUVS was manufactured in the US and will be donated by Oceana Philippines to the SM Benthos Project. The US Embassy facilitated the transfer of the equipment that will be used by the SM Benthos team in their next expedition in Benham Rise in May 2016. “The US is really concerned about the Marine Protected Areas and illegal fishing activities in the Philippines, and of course climate change which severely affects our seas”, said Mr. Richard Bakewell, Economic Officer, US Embassy Manila.

Dr. Edwin Villar, Deputy Executive Director for Research and Development of PCAARRD said that nowadays there are many who are more concerned in the West Philippine Sea, however, there are a lot to discover in the Philippine Sea, particularly in the Benham region. “The council wishes the SM Benham team the best in its next exploration this May”, Dr. Villar added.

Dr. Portia G. Lapitan, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UPLB, thanked Oceana Philippines and the US Embassy for these technologies, as well as PCAARRD for the continuing support to UPLB’s research and development. “UPLB is known for agriculture, forestry, climate change and biotechnology, but this research in marine sciences is a result of an active and collective effort to go beyond its niche, indicative of its pursuit of studying new fields”, Dr. Lapitan stressed.

In the three-day training, the BRUVS will be demonstrated at the Baker Hall swimming pool. About 20 participants from the UP Marine Science Institute, Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Research (DA-BFAR) and UP Los Baños attended this training.