Alcoy ordinance regulates harvest of mantis shrimps

The Alcoy municipal council has approved an ordinance regulating the capture and harvest of mantis shrimp, a marine crustacean locally known as “manantaha” or “handalitik,” from its municipal waters.

The ordinance, which still has to get approval from the Provincial Board to become the Mantis Shrimp Harvesting Ordinance, was already signed by Mayor Antonio Plando last May 22.

The council said it was intended to promote the rights of the fisherfolk of Alcoy who are mostly affected by the unregulated utilization of fisheries and aquatic resources in the area.

Vice Mayor Nicomedes delos Santos said the measure limits the harvesting of mantis shrimps to registered municipal fisherfolk, except when there is none available for the enterprise.

A certification from the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council and the Municipal Agriculture Office must be secured first before the harvest, said the vice mayor.

Only local licensed entrepreneurs should hire local fisherfolk for the harvest of the mantis shrimp, and violators of the ordinance will either be fined or imprisoned, and fishing equipment confiscated for the government, he said.

A mantis shrimp is neither a shrimp nor a mantis but got its name purely from its physical resemblance to the praying mantis and the shrimp.

It is a marine animal belonging to the order Stomatopoda, one part of the class Malacostraca, the largest class of crustaceans. It has been known to grow as long as 38 cm, and its carapace covers only the rear part of the head and the first three segments of the thorax.

The availability of mantis shrimp is seasonal, particularly between April and May. They appear in a variety of colors, from rather dull browns to stunning neon. — Garry B. Lao/RAE