Marine biology student secures third place in BFAR 8 Fisheries Quiz Bee

#ProudViscan Jose Reyes, a senior marine biology student, bagged third place in the first face-to-face regional Fisheries Quiz Bee organized by the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) held at Tacloban City.

VSU sent Reyes and Earl Japeth Curayag, a junior marine biology student, to compete in the Face Alam Mo Ba Fisheries Quiz Bee, one of the activities of BFAR Eastern Visayas in celebration of its 61st Fish Conservation Week.

Dr. Donna M. Guarte-Valida, a faculty member of the Department of Biology and Social Sciences who served as the coach of Reyes and Curayag, shared that during the quiz bee, the two seemed intimated by the fisheries students who were equally good competitors.

“But they put up an impressive performance and managed to place second (Mr. Reyes) and fourth (Mr. Curayag) in the elimination round. In the final round, the questions were more technical and fisheries-related, but Mr. Reyes managed to answer one question in the difficult stage, earning him third place. However, Mr. Curayag fell short of a podium finish, wrapping up his participation as a finalist and bringing home a certificate and cash prize,” Dr. Guarte-Valida shared.

Reyes confirmed that they were doubtful at first, knowing that their competitors were mainly from the fisheries program, but he and Curayag did their best to keep up with the challenge. 

“Having to compete about fisheries in a contest dominated by fisheries students from other universities surely made us doubt ourselves,” commented Reyes. “Although I had a Fisheries Management subject last semester, my knowledge about fisheries and aquaculture is way too shallow compared to theirs, but Earl and I trusted our instincts and relied on our stock knowledge from previous lessons, so I could really say that our performance was unarguably unexpected,” the runner-up added. 

Mr. Curayag also commented that they are lucky to enter the final stage since the questions are on fisheries, not marine biology.

For Mr. Curayag, the quiz bee was an unforgettable experience for marine biology students having to compete in a Fisheries competition. 

Their coach, Dr. Guarte-Valida, also added that they did not expect to place in the quiz bee because the program only had a few subjects related to fisheries, but she was thankful to Mr. Reyes and Mr. Curayag for taking on the challenge. The team is grateful to VSU, OVPSAS, DBS, and the Organization of Biology Students for their unwavering support. 

The Fisheries Quiz Bee was participated in by fisheries students from Biliran Province State University, Eastern Samar State University, Southern Leyte State University, Visayas State University Tolosa, Eastern Visayas State University, and Samar State University, and marine biology students from Visayas State University-Main Campus. 

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