NGOs push ban on bay fishing

Two non-government organizations (NGOs) urged President Estrada Friday to ban commercial fishing in Manila Bay due to high levels of water pollution.

In a press conference, the NGOs for Fisheries (NFR) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)-Fisherfolk Council said that commercial fishing in the entire Manila Bay area should be banned since the bay has already reached an alarming "level of fish productivity plus a high level of pollution causing massive and dangerous levels of degradation of its marine habitat."

Bonifacio Federizo, council commissioner of NAPC and Rio Magpayo, chairperson of NFR, also criticized inland industries and other anthropogenic activities that cause pollution in Manila Bay.

"They must stop polluting the bay and do their share in rehabilitating one of the country's major economic zones," Magpayo said.

Magpayo said that a closed season in Manila Bay should be from April to January which covers the spawning and proper harvesting of fish.

"Based on our evaluation, it has been proven that big commercial fishing operators are the biggest reason for the ecological and bio-physical destruction of Manila Bay," Magpayo said, who have not only depleted the bay's resources but have also amassed billions of profit to the detriment of poor fishing communities around Manila Bay.

On the other hand, Federizo said the closure of Manila Bay would have minimal effect on the supply of fish in the country since, based on a study conducted by the DA on all bays, lakes and gulfs in the country, Mania Bay is at the bottom of the list of fish sources in the country.

Likewise, Kalipunan ng Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Manila Bay (KALMADA) spokesperson Arnel Viray revealed that the level of fish productivity in the Manila Bay is quite alarming since fish production has decreased from 130,000 metric tons per year to only 120,000 metric tons.

He noted that small and subsistence fisherfolk who rely on municipal waters and traditional fishing for their livelihood are marginalized by the thousands of technology-based and capital-intensive commercial fishing vessels freely and reaping the resources of the bay.