By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—Owing to the unabated exploitation of exotic freshwater fishes and shells in the province’s inland bodies of water, the Ilocos Norte government, in collaboration with other government agencies and local government units, has set up a long-term plan to preserve them before they face possible extinction. Due to extreme pressures of the environment, Arthur Valente, provincial fishery coordinator under the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPAG) reported on Friday a convergence project proposed to the 21 towns and two cities of the province for the establishment of brass parks and cages for breeding and seeding of various freshwater fishes, including shells. “As part of our resiliency program, we need to culture our indigenous fish species so that they will not go extinct,” said Mr. Valente citing native ar-aru , gurami , dalag , paltat and mosquito fish among others, now considered rare compared in the old days when the