THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Western Visayas has imposed the closed season at the Visayan Sea beginning yesterday, November 15, until February 15 next year.
The agency called the three-month closure as "Ang Pahuway sang Baybay (Ocean’s rest).”
During this season, it is prohibited to catch fish species like tuloy, tamban, tabagak, balantiyong, guma-a, bulao, and hasa-hasa to give them time to spawn and grow until they mature for the period of three months, the BFAR-Western Visayas explained.
The BFAR also said that the Visayan Sea contributes a lot in terms of fish supply in the country, and more than 100,000 fisherfolk rely on their food and livelihood at the Visayan Sea.
However, the agency noted that fish production has been decreasing because of overfishing.
That's why there is a need for the temporary closure from fishing at the Visayan Sea, it said.*