EB MAGALONA Mayor Marvin Malacon said hog cholera cases in his locality have been declining and that there is no need to declare an outbreak at this time.

Malacon said everything about animal diseases and cases of hog cholera has been centralized at the Capitol after Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson issued an executive order creating the Provincial Incident Management Team.

"We will take it from the assessment of the Provincial Veterinarian," Malacon said when asked for a possible declaration of hog cholera outbreak.

Pig deaths were first reported in a commercial piggery in the town due to overpopulation, the PVO earlier said.

Meanwhile, Malacon said they are closely monitoring the local markets about the selling of undersized blue crabs.

Malacon has been reminding fisher folks of EB Magalona to refrain from catching undersized or gravid blue swimming crabs, or they will face penalties.

Undersized crabs are those measuring less than 4 inches, while gravid crabs are considered pregnant or carrying eggs in clusters on their bellies, according to Bobby Paran, chair of the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (MFARMC).

Malacon called for an urgent meeting with punong barangays and officers of fisherfolk associations of the nine coastal barangays of the municipality at the public plaza on May 22 following the recent apprehensions of fishermen catching undersized and gravid crabs.

The protection and regulation in catching blue swimming crabs in the municipality is provided for in the Municipal Ordinance No. 29 series of 2019.

Called the “EB Magalona Blue Crab and Bird Sanctuaries, and Mangrove Reserve - Local Conservation Area,” the ordinance states that the municipality shall ensure the equitable and wise use of the coastal resources, reserve preferential use of these resources for its fisherfolks, and promote their active participation in its management.

EB Magalona is considered as "The Blue Crab Capital of Negros Occidental."*