ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – No one may fish for sardines in the Basilan Strait and Sulu Sea until March, the regional office of the Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao declared.
The BFAR said it is strictly implementing the closed fishing season in the area from December to March to allow the sardines or tamban to spawn.
The declaration of the closed fishing season was in compliance with the Philippine Fisheries Code and covers the waters of east Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay, according to Jerusalem Abdullahim, chief of the ARMM-BFAR fishery regulatory and law enforcement division.
ARMM public information chief Amir Mawalil said the ban includes selling, buying and possessing of sardines caught in these areas.
Aside from the ARMM, a similar fishing ban was also declared in the Zamboanga peninsula for the same period.
The local fishing industry of Zamboanga has been implementing the ban even before the BFAR declaration, which also covers the Visayan Sea and its surrounding waters.
Aside from sardines, yellow fin tuna and other related species are found in the waters of the Zamboanga peninsula, Sulu Sea and Basilan Strait.