AFTER its three-month implementation, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) lifted the Sardine Fishing Ban in the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay on midnight of March 1, 2013.
Beginning tomorrow, the fisherfolk in these areas can now resume their sardine fishing activities. Consequently, the Sardine Canneries in Zamboanga City, the largest producer of canned and bottled sardines in the country, are expected to take their production in full swing as the closed season comes to an end.
This is the second time BFAR, following the Joint DA-DILG Administrative Order No. 1 or JAO-1, has implemented a fishing ban on sardines in Zamboanga to make way for the species’ spawning period.
BFAR Director Asis G. Perez said that the production of sardines increased after the implementation of the closed season last December 2011 to February 2012, which encouraged the Bureau to apply the same measure in the succeeding years.
The sardine production in the Zamboanga Region registered a positive mark as the volume of sardine production for 2012 grew comparatively higher than the previous year. Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed a significant increase of captured sardines with a total of 156,153.51 MT in 2012 compared to 2011’s 146,835.66 MT.
Meanwhile, the sardine production in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has also increased by more than 35% from 4,013.23 MT in the first quarter to 6, 380.79 MT in the second quarter of 2012. With this recent trend, BFAR eyes an optimistic growth in sardine production in the coming years. Studies also revealed a significant link between the sardine population and high tuna production.
It will be recalled that BFAR’s decision was initially met with scepticism before the implementation of the fishing ban on December 1, 2011. Protesters from both the fisherfolk sector and the canning industries went in troops to oppose the closed season. On its second year, however, a hundred percent compliance has been observed from the stakeholders due to the positive results yield in the previous year. It can also be attributed to strict law enforcement undertaken by BFAR.
In a related development, BFAR will spearhead the Mindanao-Wide Environmental Media Conference on March 7-10, 2013 which aims to enhance awareness among stakeholders and the media on their role in the conservation and protection of the aquatic resources. The said activity will be held on board the MV DA-BFAR, which will sail for the fishing grounds to witness actual fishing of sardines and the deployment of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) or Payaos.
The waters of Zamboanga are not the only areas subjected under the sardine closed season. On November 15, 2012, BFAR has also put the Visayan Sea and its surrounding waters under the fishing ban.