BFAR set to implement 3-mo fishing ban in Visayas Sea

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is prepared for the implementation of the three-month fishing ban in the Visayas Sea to increase the spawning areas of sardine and mackerel.

BFAR director Asis Perez said that during the closed season for sardines and mackerel that would be implemented from Nov. 15, 2012 to Feb. 14, 2013, fishing, gathering, possession, buying and/or selling of sardines and mackerel would be prohibited.

The bureau is now finalizing all the necessary preparations to send six of its floating assets to patrol the waters of the Visayan Sea covered by the regulation, Perez said.

The composite law enforcement team that would man the vessels is composed of officers and staff from the Philippine Coast Guard, members of the BFAR’s Fisheries Law Enforcement Section, the PNP-Maritime, NBI and other law enforcement agencies of the government.

Perez said that three units each of the 30-meter BFAR-MCS patrol vessels and the 28-footer patrol boats would be stationed in strategic areas in the Visayan Sea.

The area covered by the closed season spans from the mouth of Danao River on the northeastern tip of the Bantayan Island to Madridejos, thru the lighthouse on Gigantes Island, to Ulutaya Island, to Culasi Point in Capiz province, eastward along the northern coast of Capiz to Bulacaue Point in Caries, Iloilo, southward along the eastern coast of Iloilo to the mouth of Talisay River, westward across the Guimaras Strait to Tomonton Point in Occidental Negros, eastward along the northern coast of the island of Negros and back to the mouth of Danao River in Escalante, Negros Occidental.

 The closed season would cover sardines belonging to the family Clupeidae known under the following scientific and local names: Sardinella fimbriata (fimbriated sardines, tunsoy, lao-lao, tabagak, tamban, iiryan); S. perferata (deep-bodied herrings, halobaybay, tamban, lapad, tamban lison, lapa); S. longiceps, Indian sardines, tamban tunsoy, haul-haul); Dusumieria acuta (round dwarf herring, tulis, balantiyong, and hilos-hilos).

Moreover, the mackerels belonging to the family Scombridae and known under the following scientific and local names: Rastrelliger brachysoma (short-bodied mackerels, hasa-hasa) and R. chrysozonus (striped mackerels, alumahan and bulao) are also covered.

“We are confident that such measure would bring better benefits to the industry. In the case of last year’s closed season in Zamboanga Peninsula, an impressive 13 percent spike in sardine production was achieved beginning the second quarter of this year alone”, said Perez.

He said the government had also prepared a number of livelihood interventions for the affected municipal fishers through its mangrove rehabilitation program and other livelihood assistance. 

BFAR implemented the sardine ban in the Zamboanga Peninsula – covering east Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay– from Dec. 1, 2011 to Feb. 28, 2012.