BFAR bans commercial fishing in Visayan Sea for 3 mos.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has implemented a three-month commercial fishing ban for sardines, mackerel and herring in the Visayan Sea to allow fish stocks to recover in the spawning season.

 

BFAR director Asis Perez said the ban started on Nov. 15, but will not apply to municipal fishers who can still catch the prohibited species for personal consumption and for selling in local wet markets, according to an emailed statement from Oceana Philippines on Monday.

 

Commercial boats weighing 3.1 gross tons and up after included in the ban.

 

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.

 

The bureau has deployed 12 patrol boats to "bolster" the enforcement of the ban. Violators face a P6,000 fine or imprisonment of up to six years.

 

Fisheries expert Maria Lourdes Palomares noted the ban would help the population of small fish species recover from the ill-effects of overfishing. Oceana Philippines cited BFAR data saying 10 of the country's 13 fishing grounds, including Visayan Sea, are overfished.

 

"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 from hatchling to juveniles, and thus increasing their survival to adults," Palomares said. – Kathryn Mae P. Tubadeza/VS, GMA News