In the Visayan sea sardines, mackerel ban starts Nov. 15

CEBU, Philippines - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) had warned fishermen of the start of the ban on sardines and mackerel fishing in the Visayan Sea effective November 15.

“It’s all systems go for the implementation of the closed season for sardine, mackerel and herring in the Visayan Sea, said BFAR chief Asis Perez at the conclusion of the orientation on law enforcement protocols held at Tagbilaran City in Bohol last Thursday.

The four-month ban starts on Nov. 15 this year until March 15 next year, during which the fishing, gathering, possession, buying and selling of sardines and mackerels are not allowed, the BFAR administrative order said.

A similar warning was also announced in Western Visayas by BFAR-6 regional director Drusila Esther Bayate in a report published by media outlets there yesterday. The closed season will enable the species enough time to spawn and recoup, she added.

Perez said BFAR is now finalizing preparations for the sending of six vessels to patrol the waters covered by the ban. A composite team—consisting of officers and staff of the Philippine Coast Guard, the BFAR’s fisheries law enforcement section, the PNP-Maritime, NBI and other law enforcement agencies—will man the vessels.

The areas covered by the ban are: from the mouth of Danao River on the northeastern tip of the Bantayan Island to Madridejos in Cebu province; thru the lighthouse on Gigantes Island in Carles, Iloilo; Ulutaya Island to Culasi point in Capiz province; eastward along the northern coast of Capiz to Bucaue Point in Carles, Iloilo; southward along the eastern coast of Iloilo to the mouth of Talisay River; westward across the Guimaras Strait to Tomonton Point in Negros Occidental; eastward along the northern coast of the Island of Negros and back to the mouth of Danao River in Escalante City, Negros Occidental.

The species covered are sardines locally known as fimbriated sardines, tunsoy, lao-lao, tabagak, tamban, iiryan , deep-bodied herrings, halobaybay, lapad, tamban lison, lapa haul-haul, round-dwarf herring, tulis, balantiyong and hilos-hilos.

Mackerel species are short-bodied mackerel, hasa-hasa, striped mackerels, alumahan and bulao.

Renowned environmental lawyer and advocate, Antonio Oposa, hailed the Aquino administration’s fisheries resource conservation program, saying that the best form of enforcement is when the law does not need to be enforced at all.

Speaking to the participants in the Bohol orientation, Oposa said the success of law enforcement is not about the number of apprehensions made but in the prevention of violation. —BFAR