Bataan town intensifies drive vs illegal fishing

BAGAC, Bataan- The municipality of Bagac on Saturday has deputized at least 20 fishermen belonging to the Kapisanan ng mga Maliliit na Mangingisda as multiplier a force to augment the undermanned local police force, to totally wipe out illegal fishing activities here. In a two-day workshop here, the newly deputized wardens were briefed on their roles, and the grounds for the revocation of the authority bestowed upon them. They were also briefed on the procedural aspects in the filing of illegal fishing cases in court. To make them more prepared on their new tasks, technicians from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) likewise briefed them in the external and internal manifestations of fish caught by the use of obnoxious and explosives materials. The seminar sponsored by BFAR, the provincial government, and this municipality, was attended by about a hundred Kamama fishermen, the only fisherfolk organization here. Kamama is under the umbrella fisherman organization in the province, Alyansa ng Mangingisda ng Bataan. Councilor Ernesto Cascasan, chairman of the committee on agriculture, said the fish wardens and Kamama fishermen were also updated on the ordinances adopted by the municipality to protect the municipal waters. Discussed were kautusan Blg. 76-4, “kautusang nagpapataw ng parusa at multa sa sinumang namamalakaya o mandaragat na walang ilaw na pula ang kanilang ginagamit", municipal ordinance No. 99-04, “prohibiting the catching of aquarium fishes within the municipal waters", and municipal ordinance 05-03, “prohibiting baby trawl operating within the distance of 7 kilometers from the shoreline and the use of fine meshed nets". Last year, Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia organized the Bataan Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force, with him as its chairman, to stop rampant illegal fishing in the waters of the province, and conserve marine resources. The task force is composed of local officials, police and concerned agencies’ personnel. Colonel Hernando Zafra, Bataan PNP Director, is the vice chairman for operations, and acting provincial agriculture officer Imelda Inieto, vice chairman for administration. Three hundred nineteen illegal fishers were charged in court last year in line with the intensified campaign against poaching in the province, according to BAIFTF.-GMANews.TV