The Bolinao Marine Laboratory (BML) is the main research station of the UP Marine Science Institute and is one of the leading scientific institutions in Southeast Asia. The BML is located in the municipality of Bolinao, province of Pangasinan on the northern corner of the Lingayen Gulf in the northern Philippines.
Bolinao’s rich marine ecosystem was surveyed as early as 1976 as part of a nationwide assessment of the status of Philippine reefs. The five-hectare site of the BML was donated by the Municipality of Bolinao to the University of the Philippines on November 9, 1983.
Aside from the main laboratory building, BML also has a spacious dive locker, an administration building, two dormitories, one single housing unit, and 3 duplex units.
In addition, an extensive hatchery facility serves as the site for various research activities. The Bolinao Marine Laboratory maintains outdoor culture facilities and experimental areas with flow-through seawater and continuous aeration, as well as facilities for micro-algae culture and temperature-controlled experiments.
Laboratories are equipped with analytical instruments and microscopes, microbiology and molecular biology facilities, scuba diving equipment, and small watercraft for fieldwork. The BML campus also has an on-site library, classrooms, conference facilities, and housing for students and researchers.
BML operations are partly supported by the University of the Philippines Diliman and by the research projects conducted on-site that receive funding from various local and international agencies. Regular maintenance of the BML campus is supported by fees from accommodations and rentals of equipment and facilities.
BML maintains outdoor culture facilities and experimental areas with flow-through seawater and continuous aeration, as well as facilities for microa-lgae culture. Laboratories are equipped with analytical instruments. Generators ensure 24/7 power supply. SCUBA and snorkeling gear and small watercraft are available for fieldwork.
The biodiversity of Bolinao and its surrounding waters makes BML an ideal location for marine science research. Field-based facilities include the giant clam ocean nursery and sea cucumber sea ranch. Continuous monitoring systems record environmental parameters at various sites.
The BML campus maintains an on-site library, museums for fish, clam, and coral collections, classrooms, conference facilities, and housing for students and researchers.
More commonly known as “taklobo” in Filipino, giant clams (Tridacna Gigas) with electric green, brown, and violet colors that are impossible to miss are being grown in the waters surrounding Silaqui Island, the northernmost tip of the town of Bolinao, Pangasinan.
