Fishing ban bodes well for Visayan Sea – BFAR

A pond technician is seen feeding fish with a formulated diet at a fish pen in Tigbauan, Iloilo. SEAFDEC

ILOILO City – A three-month fishing ban on herrings, mackerels and sardines has been proven to bode well for the Visayan Sea, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Every “closed season” from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15 the production of these fish species increases 20 percent, said Regional Director Remia Aparri.

Aparri was in Oton, Iloilo on Friday for the signing of a “covenant commitment” to protect the Visayan Sea among provinces surrounding the body of water.

Citing a BFAR-6 report, Aparri said 550 metric tons of sardines were hauled from the Visayan Sea from November 2014 to May 2015, up from 500 metric tons from November 2013 to May 2014.

Under the BFAR’s Fisheries Administrative Order No. 167-3, the fishing and selling of the following species are prohibited for three months:

* goldstripe sardines (locally called tamban / tabagak)

* Bali sardines (tamban / tamban-tuloy)

* rainbow sardine (tamban / balantiyong)

* short-bodied mackerel (hasa-hasa / guma-a)

* Indian mackerel (bulaw / buraw / alumahan)

The closed season gives these species time to spawn and for their fingerlings to grow further, said the BFAR.

The agency has also observed that the number of commercial vessels heading to the Visayan Sea during the closed season was reducing – suggesting that more and more people are becoming aware of the periodic fishing ban, Aparri said.

“There’s a reduction of detection sang vessels fishing in the Visayan Sea … that means they are compliant,” she said.

Some 349 commercial fishing vessels operate at the Visayan Sea. During the closed season the number drops to around 50, based on BFAR records.

That some vessels still fish at the Visayan Sea during the ban cannot be completely avoided but at least their number is at the minimal, said Aparri.

Many fishers are discouraged due to the penalties that may be slapped against them if they are caught, she said.

Anyone caught hauling the species specified under Fisheries Administrative Order No. 167-3 may be fined P6,000 or imprisoned for up to six years. Their permit to fish will be revoked and their catch seized, too.

The BFAR-6 is currently working with local government units and concerned agencies like the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority as it prepares for another “closed season” starting November this year.

The closed season at the Visayan Sea covers an area drawn through certain points and coastlines.

These coastlines include from the mouth of the Danao River on the northeastern tip of Bantayan Island to Madridejos (Cebu) through the lighthouse on Gigantes Island (Iloilo), to Olotayan Island and Culasi Point (Capiz); eastward along the northern coast of Capiz to Bulacaue Point in Carles (Iloilo); southward along the eastern coast of Iloilo to the mouth of Talisay River; westward across the Guimaras Strait to Tomonton Point in Negros Occidental; eastward along the northern coast of Negros Island and back to the mouth of Danao River in Escalante, Negros Occidental.

SOURCE: Panay News

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