DUMAGUETE CITY – As the closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea started Nov. 15, government agencies and other stakeholders have stepped up their campaign to protect the Tañon Strait from the potential threat of commercial fishing vessels encroaching in this marine resource-rich body of water.
On Wednesday morning, three patrol vessels were officially deployed to Tañon Strait, which lies between the islands of Negros and Cebu, to conduct maritime and seaborne patrol operations.
Oceana, a non-government group actively campaigning for the protection of Tañon Strait, organized the send-off ceremony of the patrol vessels DF-300 of the Philippine Coast Guard, the PB352 of the Philippine Navy and the BFAR Patrol Boat MM No. 3017.
Officer in charge Nathaniel Lucero, of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Negros Oriental, said there is scarcity of sardines, herrings and mackerels in the fishing grounds of the Visayan Sea.
Fisheries Administrative Order No. 167-3 states that there will be a closed season in the Visayan Sea from Nov. 15, 2017 to February 15, 2018 or a three-month period.
The fishing ban, which covers commercial fisheries but not marginal fishermen, will allow fishes in the Visayan Sea to spawn and recover.
A report from the National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) of the BFAR shows that every gravid breeder (pregnant or carrying eggs) of herring, sardine, or mackerel produces some 600,000 to 800,000 eggs.
Lucero disclosed reports of 200 to 500 boxes of gravid breeders caught in Cebu, which he believes is the reason for the scarcity of these particular fish species.
The floating assets and QRTs (quick response teams) of the BFAR are deployed in the different areas in the four regions in the Visayas (Regions 5, 6, 7 and 8) to ensure that the closed fishing season for sardine, herring and mackerel is fully enforced.
Meanwhile, Mayor Gino dela Cruz of Amlan, Negros Oriental, who is the Site Management Unit Head of the southern part of Tañon Strait, urged the organizers of the send-off of the patrol boats “to dramatize the seriousness of enforcement in protecting the Tañon Strait.”
“The bottom-line objective of what we are doing actually is to have a sustainable availability of fish food for our communities in Negros Oriental, Cebu and the Occidental side of Negros Island,” dela Cruz said.
The mayor added that Tañon Strait, which was declared as a protected seascape, serves as breeding ground for fishes in the Visayas area.
“We need to protect it from illegal commercial fishing vessels so as not to deplete fish stocks. Eventually we will have no more fish for food,” he said.
The Tañon Strait Protected Seascape lies between the islands of Cebu and Negros with about 42 local government units from Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and Cebu provinces forming part of its Protected Area Management Board.
Danny Ocampo, oceans campaign manager of Oceana, said the past few years have been very crucial to increase enforcement. The management of Tañon Strait and a lot of agencies play a very important role in making sure that it has a management plan and enforcement plan.
Protected Area Supervisor Am Prospero Lendio agrees that Tañon Strait is more vulnerable now to illegal commercial fishing vessels with the onset of the closed season in the Visayan Sea, but assures that they will be doing their best to protect the area from poachers.
Lendio appealed to local government units (LGUs) to join hands and get involved in the protection of Tañon Strait.
Meanwhile, acting Negros Oriental Governor Edwin Mark Macias highlighted the importance of conserving marine resources but lamented that while there are good laws in the Philippines, the problem is that most of the time, they are not implemented.
Macias said what is more important is the enforcement of these laws as he expressed gladness that the “convergence” of all the stakeholders in Tañon Strait brings hope for its protection and conservation.
Oceana-Philippines’ vice president Atty. Gloria Estenzo-Ramos described Wednesday’s event as a “dream come true,” seeing various representations from the LGUs, government agencies, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to protect the vast resources of the Tañon Strait.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Coast Guard and the Navy assured of coordination with civil authorities, non-government groups like Oceana and RARE and other stakeholders, in ensuring the full protection of Tañon Strait. (Mary Judaline Partlow/PNA)
