Lagundi Reef to have floating guardhouse

The Talisay City council approved yesterday a resolution asking Mayor Socrates Fernandez to put up a "floating guardhouse" for personnel tasked to closely watch the Lagundi Reef from illegal fishing and other activities detrimental to marine lives.

Councilor Shirley Belleza, who authored the resolution, said that last week there was an oil spill on a portion of the area declared marine sanctuary.

She is optimistic the floating guardhouse would become an "effective means to lessen, if not eliminate, destructive activities carried out at the area."

The council committee on tourism, which Belleza heads, has launched an intensive campaign to make the area an interesting dive destination. However, with the lack of equipment and facility to counter and or apprehend lawless elements carrying out destructive activities at the Lagundi reef, they are afraid their efforts on protection and preservation of the reef might not be sustained.

"It is much easier to arrest or drive away people, carrying out illegal activities in the area, with a floating guardhouse," the resolution, which was passed yesterday, read.

The lack of motorboats, with the Fishermen Sea Ecological Care having only one motorboat, has also proven to make the task of guarding the area less effective. Thus, Belleza, in a separate resolution, has also asked Fernandez to provide an additional boat that would be used to track down illegal fishermen.

However, Vice Mayor Aberdovey Belleza said the city during the term of Fernandez to the then municipality of Talisay and even the then Mayor Eduardo Gullas bought many pump boats. He advised the chairman on city properties Jo Florence Bas to locate these vessels, if these still exist or if the city should resort to buying a new boat instead. - Liv G. Campo