Fisherfolk get 90 days

LIKE some fishers in other parts of the country, two groups of fisherfolk in Bantayan, Cebu are confronted with seemingly contradicting options: protect nature and wildlife or provide the basic needs of their families.

The owners and crew of two motorboats caught by the Maritime Police in Sta. Fe, Bantayan, had to resolve the issue 90 days from the time they came face-to-face with environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa. The fisherfolk were caught for allegedly violating fishery regulations and environmental laws for practicing sapyaw—a fishing method that involves the use of bright lamps and nets—within a marine protected area off Sta. Fe last May 14.

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SPO4 Roberto Pernito, team leader of the Maritime Police in the area, said charges have been filed against the boat captain and fisherfolk, all residents of Barangay Sillon, Bantayan, Cebu, with the Municipal Trial Court.

In a dialog with Oposa, though, the fisherfolk and boat owners pointed out they were solely dependent on the fishing practice to feed their families and educate their children.

Felix Hubahib, one of the boat owners, said they could observe a “close season” for sapyaw fishing to allow fish to reproduce.

Alternative livelihood

Oposa told the group that the Law of Nature Foundation, which he established in Sta. Fe, can teach fisherfolk alternative fishing methods that will enable them to provide for the needs of their families without jeopardizing the marine ecosystem. He cited sea cucumber culture and sailboat making as alternative livelihood activities.

He pointed out, though, that the fisherfolk of Sillon will have to be the one to ask the local government for whatever financial assistance they would need to shift to alternative livelihood activities.

The fisherfolk’s arrest came shortly before a cement manufacturer launched a program to protect whale sharks off Bantayan.

Cemex, manufacturer of Apo Cement, launched last May 15 the Cebu leg of a program that aims to save whale sharks.

The cement manufacturer has been implementing the Adopt-A-Species program for the protection of whale sharks in Donsol, Sorsogon. The program seeks to develop a sustainable science-based framework to protect threatened species and avoid their extinction.

Whale sharks

Cemex Philippines Foundation executive director Darwin Mariano said he learned that whale sharks have been sighted off the Bantayan group of islands in Cebu so his office teamed up with Oposa’s Law of Nature Foundation to implement the Adopt-A-Species program in the area.

Fisherfolk who work as volunteer marine sanctuary guards in Sta. Fe, Bantayan said whale sharks have been seen in the area in November last year and last January.

Although it launched the program last Saturday, Cemex has yet to decide specific activities for Bantayan.

In Donsol, the Cemex Adopt-A-Species program includes an education campaign and alternative livelihood development, in which members of the community are given skills training in eco-tourism activities.

Mariano said Cemex Philippines Foundation is still studying what needs to be done in Bantayan. “Right now, we are still assessing the needs of the community,” he added.

Paul Vincent Arcenas, regional vice president for planning of Cemex, said the company still does not know if the Bantayan phase of the program will be for two or three years.

School

At present, Cemex is helping rebuild the dormitory of the School of the Seas of the Law of Nature Foundation that has been damaged by typhoon.

The School of the Seas is a facility that aims to raise awareness, through experiential activities, on the need to protect coastal and marine resources. The School of the Seas and Law of Nature Foundation are focused on the proper protection and management of the Visayan seas, described by scientists to be the center of biodiversity.

Mariano said Cemex Philippines Foundation picked the whale shark because it is dependent on a habitat—the sea—which easily demonstrates the effects of human abuses, like pollution, deforestation and harmful fishing methods.

Cemex also helped the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to draft a measure that will encourage companies to protect the country’s threatened wildlife. The proposal involves granting tax credits to companies that “adopt” species for protection.

Apart from the Adopt-A-Species program, Cemex also developed a cement mixture—using its Apo Green cement, a product type that is manufactured with less carbon dioxide emission—that is appropriate for building artificial reefs in Bantayan. “We considered the chemical composition of the sand and water in Bantayan in developing the mixture,” Mariano said.

Cemex is looking for a partner that has the technical capability to come up with an appropriate design for an artificial reef using the cement mixture.