Illegal fishers find new modus

CEBU, Philippines - Some illegal fishers have found a smart way to play around with the government’s prohibition of fine mesh nets.

The executive director of the Cebu City Bantay Dagat Task Force, Ranulfo Sebusa, said that illegal fishers have used doubled or even tripled layer of legal fishing nets which has an effect of that of a fine mesh nets.

Sebusa said they have arrested some of them but were told to release by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources because there is no law yet that prohibits doubling the legal fishing nets in fishing.

 “Daghan mi og nadakpan pero ipa-release ra man sa BFAR kay dili man kuno illegal. Pero pareho ra man gud og resulta sa mga pukot nga gagmay’g mata kay makuha man gihapon ang gagmay’ng isda,” Sebusa said.

Sebusa said he will ask the City Council to enact an ordinance that will ban such practice.

“Kinahanglang idili g’yud ang paghimo niini kay bisan og husto ang gidak-on sa mata sa pukot apan kon sapawon ang duha o tulo ka pukot, mogagmay na ang mata,” Sebusa said.

Republic Act 8550 or the Fishery Code of the Philippines provides that meshed fish nets below three centimeters shall be strictly prohibited.

By using these illegal nets the small species, especially the juveniles of large commercially important fish are trapped.

A number of local fishermen operating within the municipal seawaters with their small boats apply these harmful and dangerous nets, depleting fish resources. (FREEMAN)