Establishment of UP Institute of Fisheries Development and Research

June 19, 1965

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4514

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH AN INSTITUTE OF FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF FISHERIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, TO PROVIDE FOR ITS ADMINISTRATION AND MAINTENANCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. It is hereby declared a national policy to encourage basic as well as applied research and advanced technical training in fisheries for the proper development and utilization of our fishery resources which are vital to the economic well-being of the Filipino people.

SECTION 2. Pursuant to the national policy enunciated in the preceding section, the University of the Philippines is hereby authorized to establish an Institute of Fisheries Development and Research within its College of Fisheries, hereinafter to be known as the Institute, which shall consist of:

(a) Suitable physical facilities for conducting researches in the major fields in fisheries, namely, marine fisheries, inland fisheries, and fisheries technology;

(b) Accessory physical facilities, such as library, museum, aquaria, and for related activities as dissemination of information, communication, transportation, and collaboration with fishery organizations, scientists and scholars;

(c) Regular staff of research scientists, including foreign fisheries experts, technicians and administrative personnel, to be augmented as circumstances require.

SECTION 3. The Institute shall discharge the following functions:

(a) To undertake basic and applied research in the major fields in fisheries, namely, marine fisheries, inland fisheries and fisheries technology, for the purpose of enriching and applying the knowledge obtained to the fisheries industry;

(b) To disseminate the results of these researches and to encourage their application to and adoption by the fisheries industry;

(c) To provide assistance on request and when feasible to government and private fishery agencies and individuals; acd

(d) To provide technical manpower training for the development of our fishing industry and to recommend deserving citizens for training, for government and private grants, and for scholarships both in the Philippines and abroad;

(e) To collaborate on request and when feasible with fishery schools, government agencies, particularly the Fisheries Commission, private organizations or individuals in the furtherance of knowledge in fisheries.

SECTION 4. An Advisory Council is hereby created composed of the Dean of the College of Fisheries, as Chairman, the Fisheries Commissioner, and three other members appointed by the Board of Regents on recommendation of the President of the University, who shall represent the marine industries, including fishing and canning of marine products. The Council shall advise the Institute of technical and policy matters.

SECTION 5. The Institute is authorized to maintain experiment and demonstration stations with field offices at suitable places in the Philippines. The Director of Lands shall, within one year from the effectivity of this Act, convey, cede, and transfer in full ownership to the University of the Philippines suitable parcels of public land along the coast not otherwise reserved and not exceeding five hundred hectares per parcel in each of the following places: Rizal, Bataan, Sorsogon, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Polillo Island, Panay Island, Palawan, Sulu, Leyte and Davao, for the use of the Institute in carrying out the purpose of this Act.

SECTION 6. The University of the Philippines may seek or obtained the services of any professional or technical personnel of any agency of the Philippine Government to provide instruction, perform research, and such other activities as may be necessary for the Institute. Such personnel may be given additional compensation in the form of honoraria to be determined by the University of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Institute, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.

SECTION 7. To provide physical facilities for the Institute, such as buildings, laboratories, pilot plants, fishponds, fishing boats, etc., the sum of two million pesos is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Thereafter, an annual appropriation of such sums as may be necessary shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act for the operation of said Institute.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 19, 1965

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 62, No. 48, p. 9026 on November 28, 1966