BFAR 7: Management, conservation measures needed to lift closed season policy

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 called on stakeholders to push for management and conservation measures that would reinforce the lifting of the closed season policy in a portion of the Visayan Sea.

BFAR 7 Director Allan Poquita urged local officials and the City or Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (FARMC) in the involved areas to initiate or revive legislation that would ensure that fish stocks in the Visayan Sea are managed properly.

He said that this move will help sustain the livelihood of the small-scale or municipal fisherfolk.

Timely

Stringent measures

He said that if this is not possible, officials can impose stringent measures to ban the catching of juvenile fish.

“Juvenile fish may still turn into adult species that could lay eggs, sustaining further the fish population in the Visayan Sea, which is one of the country’s largest fishing grounds,” he said.

In the absence of national legislation, he said local officials and FARMC officers may come up with or enact an ordinance or local orders that would establish these policies, provide prohibitions, and stipulate sanctions for violators. (NRC/With WBS, PR)