Palawan closed fishing season starts

MANILA, Philippines — The three-month closed fishing season in northeastern Palawan starts today to allow round scads or galunggong to repopulate, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

BFAR spokesman Nazario Briguera said the fishing ban would be in place until Jan. 31, 2025.

“We are in the last quarter of the year and we are starting to implement different closed fishing seasons in our fishing grounds,” Briguera said.

He said a similar fishing ban will be implemented in the Zamboanga peninsula and the Visayan Sea from Nov. 15 to February 2025.

The fishing ban will allow regeneration of sardines and small pelagic fish in the Zamboanga peninsula and Visayan Sea, respectively.

“We will temporarily close these fishing grounds as part of the conservation measures to make sure our fish can repopulate in the ocean,” Briguera said.

He said most of the country’s supply of round scads come from northeastern Palawan while sardines are sourced from Zamboanga peninsula.

The Visayan Sea is known for small pelagic fish species such as sardines and mackerel.

“The ban only covers commercial fishing vessels. Local fishermen can still fish in the municipal waters,” Briguera said.

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. approved the importation of 30,000 tons of frozen fish to ensure adequate supply during the closed fishing season.

Tiu Laurel increased the volume of fish importation for this year by 5,000 tons from the previous 25,000 tons as stated under the certificate of necessity to import.

The shipment of imported fish is expected to arrive on or before Jan. 15.