As per the press communiqué of the government the study programme on sardines in Samar area will be done after noting that Samar seas have been drawing sardines catchers as a result of planned annual fishing moratorium in Sulu Sea. BFAR said that the project will need P1.47 million from 2012 to 2014.
BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said that sardines resource is abundant in Northern Samar and Samar. He said that government need to design sustainable capture fisheries development strategies in the implementation of appropriate management plan. He also said that obtaining data is important as this will help in the study.
BFAR regional office revealed that during harvest season up to 3,000 fishing boats from different parts of the country operate in the area. Sardines catching have been concentrated in San Bernardino Strait, which separates Samar from Luzon. The fisheries bureau is also coordinating with their counterparts in Bicol region in undertaking a study.
The study in Samar sea will include conduct of onboard fishing observation on major fishing gears to determine seasonality, maturity stages, length frequency; data gathering on municipal and commercial capture fisheries and other fishery related industries such as marketing of fish, processing, estimate population of fishers, fish workers, processors, and operators.
