'LIVING FISH' MUSEUM OPENS IN NUEVA ECIJA
Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Nov. 28, 1999 - A museum for freshwater fish, plants and animals was opened here recently to visitors to the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) Freshwater Aquaculture Center (CLSUFAC).
Known as the "Living Fish Museum", the facility is the first of its kind in the Philippines that is specifically assigned to conserve the genetic materials in its collection of indigenous freshwater fish, 43 ornamental fish, five aquatic plants, one amphibian, two reptiles and three molluscs.
Selected species are displayed in glass aquaria with their basic taxonomic and biological information. The collection was taken from Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte, Quirino and Camarines Sur.
The museum also houses breeding and culture tanks for mass propagation of indigenous species. Selected fish species such as climbing perch, snake-skinned gurami and native catfish have been spawned artificially. As the collection develops and breeding techniques are refined, the museum will move into stock enhancement programs of the propagated species in inland waters.
From its modest home at the FACV Wet Laboratory, the museum now has its own building through a financial grant from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The project also received initial funding from the Grants-in-Aid program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)'s Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD).
PCAMRD Executive Director Rafael D. Guerrero III said the museum would strive to preserve fish species in danger of disappearing.
In charge of the museum's collection, research and maintenance is a team headed by Dr. Tereso A. Abella, dean of the CLSU College of Fisheries.
© Copyright, 1999 by PHILIPPINE
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