In a drive to protect sardines, herring and mackerel the Department of Agriculture has banned the fishing of these species in Visyan Sea, one of the country’s richest fishing grounds. It is told that the ban was imposed by the DA’s attached agency, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). It will be in place for four months or until March 2009.
According to DA the ban covers more than half of the 10,000-square-kilometer Visayan Sea and it shallow waters and located mostly in northern Negros, northern Iloilo and along municipal waters. BFAR regional director for Western Visayas Drusila Bayate informed that the ban has been implemented annually since 1989 under BFAR Administrative Order 167 to shield the Visayan Sea from overfishing and pollution.
Bayate opined that under this BFAR order the killing and the catching of sardines, herrings and mackerels are prohibited within the closed season. He further said that selling, buying and having possession of the three fish species are also illegal. Any violation of the prohibition will be punishable with a fine of P500 to P5,000, or an imprisonment from six months to four years, or both, pointed out Bayate.
The Philippines is undertaking the tagging project for mackerel and round scads species in partnership with Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia (Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak), Vietnam and Myanmar. BFAR director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr., said tagging the fishes will enable researchers to determine the migratory path of these species, which would eventually lead to the development of a regional management plan for small pelagic fisheries in the region in order to ensure the sustainability of the said fishery resource.
