Oceana Philippines supports closed fishing season in Visayan Sea
For the third straight year, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has declared the Visayan Sea closed to commercial fishing for sardines, mackerel, and herring for three months to allow fish stocks to recover during the spawning season.
Press Release Date: January 17, 2015
BFAR Director Asis Perez said the ban started on Saturday, November 15, and will end in February to coincide with the highest spawning season for sardines.
At the Tapatan forum on Monday, November 17, Asis clarified that the ban does not apply to municipal fishers, who can still catch these species for personal consumption and for selling in local wet markets.
BFAR-7 Regional Director Andres Bojos said the ban covers portions of the Visayan Sea from Danao River at the tip of Escalante north of Bacolod, at the eastern tip of Sta. Fe and northern tip of Madridejos in Cebu, to Higantes Island in Carles, Iloilo, and Caluya Island in Oriental Mindoro.
He said the bureau has deployed 12 patrol boats to bolster the enforcement of the ban.
Based on BFAR’S research, November to February is the peak of the spawning period for sardines, mackerel, and herring. “This is the timeliest season to restore the population of these species,” Bojos said.
The closure will affect commercial boats weighing 3.1 gross tons and up. Penalties for violations consist of a P6,000 fine and/or imprisonment for up to six years.
The Northern Cebu Commercial Fishing Operators Association, through its president Romeo Villaceran, has expressedsupport for the ban, according to an article in the newspaper The Freeman.
Aside from getting accustomed to the ban, he attested that in the past two years, the fishers noticed the abundance of fingerlings at the end of the closed season. One fish tub of fingerlings would be equivalent to 100 tubs the following month, ready for harvesting in April and May, Villaceran said.
Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Vice President of Oceana Philippines, praised the fishing ban as an important step in ensuring the viability of the fishing industry and the livelihood of municipal fishers.
“This will go a long way in ensuring that essential food fish for Filipinos remain abundant for present and future generations,” Ramos said.
Sardines and herring are known in the Visayas by the local names tamban, malalangsi, and tuloy while mackerel is called tamaro or anduhaw.
According to BFAR, 10 of the country’s 13 fishing grounds are overfished, including the Visayan Sea.
Fisheries expert Maria Lourdes “Deng” Palomares said the ban would help small fish species, notably sardines, to recover.
“This ban will go a long way as it will help prevent spawning fish from being taken out of the sea and will thus help increase the number of baby fishes actually making it from hatchling to juveniles, and thus increasing their survival to adults,” she said.
Palomares suggested that aside from enforcement of the ban, information drives could be undertaken to educate fishers on why fish stocks are dwindling and how the closed season is helping to replenish fisheries and improve their livelihood.
BFAR Director Asis Perez said the ban started on Saturday, November 15, and will end in February to coincide with the highest spawning season for sardines.
At the Tapatan forum on Monday, November 17, Asis clarified that the ban does not apply to municipal fishers, who can still catch these species for personal consumption and for selling in local wet markets.
BFAR-7 Regional Director Andres Bojos said the ban covers portions of the Visayan Sea from Danao River at the tip of Escalante north of Bacolod, at the eastern tip of Sta. Fe and northern tip of Madridejos in Cebu, to Higantes Island in Carles, Iloilo, and Caluya Island in Oriental Mindoro.
He said the bureau has deployed 12 patrol boats to bolster the enforcement of the ban.
Based on BFAR’S research, November to February is the peak of the spawning period for sardines, mackerel, and herring. “This is the timeliest season to restore the population of these species,” Bojos said.
The closure will affect commercial boats weighing 3.1 gross tons and up. Penalties for violations consist of a P6,000 fine and/or imprisonment for up to six years.
The Northern Cebu Commercial Fishing Operators Association, through its president Romeo Villaceran, has expressedsupport for the ban, according to an article in the newspaper The Freeman.
Aside from getting accustomed to the ban, he attested that in the past two years, the fishers noticed the abundance of fingerlings at the end of the closed season. One fish tub of fingerlings would be equivalent to 100 tubs the following month, ready for harvesting in April and May, Villaceran said.
Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Vice President of Oceana Philippines, praised the fishing ban as an important step in ensuring the viability of the fishing industry and the livelihood of municipal fishers.
“This will go a long way in ensuring that essential food fish for Filipinos remain abundant for present and future generations,” Ramos said.
Sardines and herring are known in the Visayas by the local names tamban, malalangsi, and tuloy while mackerel is called tamaro or anduhaw.
According to BFAR, 10 of the country’s 13 fishing grounds are overfished, including the Visayan Sea.
Fisheries expert Maria Lourdes “Deng” Palomares said the ban would help small fish species, notably sardines, to recover.
“This ban will go a long way as it will help prevent spawning fish from being taken out of the sea and will thus help increase the number of baby fishes actually making it from hatchling to juveniles, and thus increasing their survival to adults,” she said.
Palomares suggested that aside from enforcement of the ban, information drives could be undertaken to educate fishers on why fish stocks are dwindling and how the closed season is helping to replenish fisheries and improve their livelihood.