JAPANESE INVESTORS IS IN COTABATO CITY

COTABATO CITY (Sept.14) ---A group of Japanese investors is in Cotabato City to explore the areas where they can hatch and breed "Unagi", a freshwater eel that is a highly popular ingredient in Japanese dishes. This type of eel currently has a big demand around the globe that resulted to a significant reduction in its population for the past half century. In fact, the Japanese Ministry for the Environment has already included the Japanese eel in its list of endangered species.

According to these Japanese investors and researchers, the freshwater eel that is sold in South Central Mindanao is from the waters surrounding Cotabato City. This is why they personally came to test our freshwater and look on the possibility of breeding eels here and later export them not only to Japan but to other Asian countries as well.

Acting City Mayor VM Atty. Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi has assured these investors that the city government is more than willing to extend whatever assistance they may need in the course of their research and in time when they are going to build the hatcheries and breeding sites.

"Cotabato City is currently expanding with all the commercial businesses that are coming in. But we also welcome those who want to help us improve our aquaculture as this is also one of the industries that we have here," the Vice Mayor said.

Cotabato City has a total of about 550 hectares of fishponds that are currently being used for growing milkfish (bangus) and prawns. (HALIMA K. SATOL-IBRAHIM/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)