Visayan Sea fishing ban lifted

CEBU, Philippines - Commercial fishermen in northern Cebu including Bantayan Island welcome the lifting of the four-month closed season on the catching of sardines, herrings, and mackerel in the Visayan Sea and its surrounding waters last Friday.

Engr. Romeo Villaceran of Madridejos town and the president of Northern Cebu Commercial Fishing Operators Association (NOCCOFOA) told The FREEMAN that they have seen the very good effect of the implementation of the fishing ban.

Villaceran said that right now they can see the abundance of fingerlings that are expected to grow for harvesting on April and May.

He said that one fish tub of fingerlings would be equivalent to 100 tubs by next month.

Villaceran vowed to support should the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) would implement the closed season every year, citing the same in Zamboanga.

“Suportahan gihapon namo kay gawas nga naka-minimize sa dinamita, nakahatag gyud og kaayohan sa kadagatan,” Villaceran said. (We will support if they move to do this again because we have seen its benefits.)

The BFAR will continue to study the outcomes of the implementation of the closed season in the area to ensure the sustainability of the sardine and mackerel stocks.

The closed season has been in existence since 1989 but it was only late last year that the law was seriously implemented and observed with the full cooperation of all commercial fishing operators in the area, as well as the local government units and other stakeholders.

The Visayan Sea is a major fishing ground for sardines, herrings, and mackerels. It has contributed at least 1.15 percent of the total production of sardines and mackerels in the last five years according to Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

However, production declined steadily, prompting the bureau to seriously implement the closed season.

In support of the government’s effort to rehabilitate the Visayan Sea, the NOCCOFOA deployed “fish condominiums” or “fish condo” in different marine sanctuaries in Bantayan Island late last year.

The project was initiated by non-government organization, School of the Sea and Earth Advocates (SEA) headed by lawyer Antonio Oposa which is supported by Villaceran’s group of local commercial fishers.

Villaceran, a contractor and owner of Rovilla Construction, said he was inspired by the advocacy of Oposa who hails from the town of Santa Fe in Bantayan Island, in establishing marine sanctuaries.

Villaceran provided the construction of hundreds of fish condos which cost around P500 each.

The “fish condo,” constructed from a concrete net-covered bamboo frame, is a structure where gravid or pregnant fish could lay their eggs.  It can also provide refuge for small fishes as marine plants and other organisms could attach and grow in the artificial shelter.

The materials used in the fish shelter closely approximates that of the coral reef which is made mostly from the calcium carbonate secretions of tiny marine animals commonly referred to as corals.

The concrete cast, in turn, is made from three-fourths calcium-rich limestone combined with one-fourth part concrete and shredded plastic wraps. (FREEMAN)