In a press statement, Kikou said the statement of Governors Leilani Reklai of Aimeliik, Vicky Kanai of Airai and Romana Anastacio of Ngchesar States was misleading with regards to the work he is doing to promote the culturing of eremrum and other similar marine species as a viable industry that can bring economic benefits to many ordinary folks throughout Palau.
Kikou states that contrary to reports, he approached Gov. Anastacio to explore the possibility of continuing to plant hatched seedlings of eremrum in Ngchesar territorial waters. He noted that PSCHF received a letter of request from Gov. Anatascio to start the project in Ngchesar.
“In fact, PSCHF has already planted one million juvenile size eremrum in Ngchesar State waters back in February of this year. This means they have reached adult size and can be harvested for the market,” Kikou said.
Kikou disclosed that he also received a letter from the highest ranking chief of Medorm Hamlet in Aimeliik State, Uchel Paul Dakubong, requesting PSCHF to continue their sea cucumber planting activities in their waters because it has been proven to have a positive impact on the lives of the people of Medorm Hamlet.
Kikou said that PSCHFonly wants to make perfectly clear to all concerned that their company is not in the business of buying sea cucumber from anywhere in the waters of Palau but only those specific places that they previously acquired permits to plant juvenile species of sea cucumber and wait for them to reach adult size.
Even after they reach maturity state, he said PSCHF does not directly go into state waters to harvest them. It is the people in those states that do the harvesting themselves and selling them to PSCHF, he pointed out.
The lady governors of the three states in Babeldaob, in their joint statement, voiced their strong opposition and called on thegovernment to put to a stop all of PSCHF’s activities of planting sea cucumber within their states.
Kikou claimed that the governors were “mislead” by opponents of the project who themselves want to venture into this field of aquaculture development but lack the proper technological knowledge to do so.
Palau law prohibits the harvesting and exporting of “uncultured” marine resources like sea cucumbers.The law stipulates that only the “cultured ones” are allowed to be exported to feed demanding world markets of Asia and other places
“It is not illegal to buy and sell sea cucumbers in Palau, whether cultured our harvested from the wild. There is no restriction on local market consumption of these species,” Kikou stressed.
When asked why the governor of Ngchesar, Airai and Aimeliik are opposing his project, Kikou said, “I was surprised to run into a lot of these obstacles and oppositions simply because I was bringing something good to their states. I am helping to put money into the pockets of the needy people in these communities.”
“The three lady governors should not feel too comfortable and set in their ways just because they receive adequate salaries to sustain their livelihood of luxurious lifestyles, but also should aggressively work to seek economic opportunities for the common folks residing in their respective states,” Kikou added.
