Phaseout for Bantay Dagat

CEBU, Philippines - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is gradually phasing out the Bantay Dagat program so that the government will be forced to protect the seas themselves.

“We are supporting Bantay Dagat program but it’s about time that volunteers should be watching and protecting their own families. Let us put the risk on the government in protecting our marine resources. Government should not delegate its responsibilities to civilians,” said Asis Perez, BFAR national director, during the Visayas-wide Environmental Media Conference held in Iloilo City yesterday.

“These volunteers are filling up the vacuum caused by the inability of the government to do its job,” Perez added.

The Bantay Dagat is a civilian fisheries patrol force made up of volunteers who keep watch on Philippine coastal waters up to 15 kilometers from the municipal shoreline.

Founded by former senator Santanina Rasul in 1994, the Bantay Dagat, according to the Philippine Navy website, has over 100,000 volunteer coast watchers as of 2000.

BFAR is the lead agency of Bantay Dagat.

Perez also said that as part of its improvement, BFAR will acquire 27 43-foot multi-mission vessels amounting to P6 million for each region in the country. BFAR will also acquire 70 30-foot patrol boats at P1.5 million each for each province in the country.

These multi-mission vessels will be used for patrolling coastal areas, monitoring, surveillance, quick response to disaster and responses as well as a laboratory.   Perez said that this time, it will be BFAR who will be in charge of the operation and maintenance of the said vessels.

Previously, BFAR turnover some patrol boats to local government units; however, these were used for other purposes and were not maintained well.

Perez added that as part of the country’s enhancement of marine resources for 2013, BFAR is targeting to distribute 270.32 million fingerlings (tilapia, carp and freshwater prawn) and 2.325 million broodstocks.

BFAR will also install 1,726 shallow water payaws, a fish aggregate device, for municipal waters this year.

Perez further said that their agency will also provide 710,000 seaweed seedlings to deserving seaweed farmers and rehabilitate affected farms.

Perez said in the World Fisheries Performance, the Philippines ranks third in terms of aquatic plants production, fifth in the fish production and tenth in the aquaculture production.

“We are fifth in terms of fish production, with our production enhancement program, we hope that at least we will be in the fourth in the coming years,” Perez added.

Philippine fish production produced a total of P5.16 million metric tons of fish, crustaceans, mollusks and aquatic plants which constitutes 3.06 percent of the total world production of 168.4 million metric tons in 2012.  (FREEMAN)