FISHING small pelagic fishes in Davao Gulf is temporarily banned during the closed season from June 1 to August 31, 2022.
The restriction is implemented by the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Davao and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Davao under Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 02 “Establishing a Closed Season for the Conservation of Small Pelagic Fishes in Davao Gulf.”
BFAR-Davao legal officer Atty. Joanna Guilonsod told SunStar Davao on June 6 that the months from June to August are the best time for small pelagic fishes to breed and spawn until fully grown to avoid a drastic decline of resources.
“For conservation and management of our small pelagic fishes because we do understand that the supply is slowly being depleted. Hindi naman endless ang ating (We do not have an endless supply of) aquatic resources and fisheries and so this is one of the actions taken to prevent further depletion,” Guilonsod said.
As stated in the JAO, commercial fishing vessels from small scale to large scale that use ringnet and bagnet gear are not allowed to operate within the closed season but small municipal fishing boats that do not use active fishing gear or vessel are still allowed.
“Basically kanang mga gagmay nato na mangingisda, pwede sila managat (Our small scale fishermen, they can still fish), as long as they don’t use active gear, at the same time ang kukunin lang rin nila na isda is (their catch should only be) good for everyday consumption,” Guilonsod said.
Species of small pelagic fishes include karabalyas, kabalyas, hasa-hasa, buraw, anduhaw, kapisnon, lumahan, anduhan, galonggong, moro-moro, borot, alumahan, budburon, burot-burot, matang baka, atulay, matambaka, tamarong, and budlatan.
Although unspecified, many fishing vessels from different local government units surrounding Davao Gulf are covered by the temporary ban. Guilonsod said they are hoping to have no violations this year, unlike last year wherein there were four cases.
In line with this, BFAR-Davao is already conducting different enforcement strategies to strictly implement JAO No. 02, such as seaborne and land-based monitoring by government agencies. However, stakeholders such as the local fisherfolks are also encouraged to participate in the monitoring.
“Ang implementation ng JAO, (The implementation of JAO) will more so come from the participation and effort of the fisherfolk kasi sila ang nasa ground, sila ang malapit at nasa community mismo (because they are the ones on the ground, nearer, and within the community),” Guilonsod said.
The closed season for fishing small pelagic fishes in Davao Gulf under JAO No. 2 is an annual implementation that started in 2014 after DA-BFAR-Davao observed a decline in its population due to the “high fishing pressure” exerted by active gears used by commercial fishing vessels. (ICM)