The discussion was led (in the above photo, left-right) by Prof. Cleto L. Nañola Jr. of the University of the Philippines Mindanao, Prof. Kent E. Carpenter of the Old Dominion University, with Dr. Mudjekeewis Santos of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, and Prof. Richard Muallil (not in photo) of the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi. Dr. Santos, in his talk, discussed the importance of having more research about fish biodiversity in establishing better protocols.

The discussion was followed by the soft launch of “Data Collection and Analyses for Reef Fish Biology,” a book edited by Dr. Cleto L. Nanola Jr. and Maybelle Fortaleza, which hopes to guide independent researchers in their own academic ventures. 

Later in the event was the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement for Educational and Scientific Cooperation between UP Mindanao and Davao del Norte State College. The partnered institutions, through the MOA, aim to implement the Applied Biodiversity Research for Holistic Advancements in Mindanao (ABRAHAM). The said program aims to develop an information and database system for Fish Morphology and DNA information about the Marine Fisheries in the Davao Region. This program also aims to create an open-access information system that will house and feature marine life information of studied organisms by local experts through the Marine Biodiversity Database (MaBiDa) Project.

By James Edward Pangan