Fishermen who engage in dynamite or blast fishing are taking a huge gamble.
Why?
First of all, they know it’s illegal. If caught, they will be apprehended and prosecuted.
Second, it is dangerous. There have been many instances when fishermen have lost a limb or two or even their sight when bombs exploded prematurely.
Third, the practice impacts their livelihood in a negative way since it destroys coral reefs and kills fish and their eggs, thereby depleting the number of fish they can catch in the future.
All the more reason they should forsake this outdated way of fishing. But, apparently, there are some people out there, despite knowing all the risks, who are tempted by the lure of a quick profit.
On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, a concerned citizen posted on social media a photo of several dead fish lying at the bottom of the ocean floor. They were believed to have been killed by blast fishing.
Jeffrey Lim, who uploaded the photo, told SunStar Cebu the incident took place last Sunday, May 28, in Magellan Bay, particularly in Punta West.
He said he and his group were on their way to their favorite diving spot when they chanced upon around 10 fishermen in their pump boats fishing in the area.
The incident prompted Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan to declare that he would “set up enhanced, robust monitoring and surveillance systems along the coastal waters of the city to deter illegal fishing, including the use of dynamite, and similar practices.”
I don’t know if that’s doable, though.
I mean, the government has tried for several decades to put a stop to the illegal practice, to no avail.
According to the United States Agency for International Development in 2021, the Philippines loses P68.5 billion annually to illegal fishing.
Well, it’s a vast ocean out there. And the government can’t well be everywhere all at once. It just doesn’t have the manpower or the money.
Did you know the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources only has six patrol boats in the entire Central Visayas to monitor situations on the sea?
Mayor Chan is better off investing in seminars that will educate local fishermen about the dangers of illegal fishing.
If the City is already doing that, then it should instill in the fishermen’s heads the dire consequences of their illegal actions.
Chan should also encourage communities to police their own ranks.
I hope last Sunday’s incident was an isolated case.
On that note, my friend Maria Victoria “Bambi” Beltran was again arrested last Friday, May 26, and was forced to spend a night in a detention cell before posting bail the next day.
This time police had a warrant.
It’s for one of the three cases filed during the time of the late Cebu City mayor Edgardo Labella.
According to her lawyer, this one was already dismissed for lack of jurisdiction at the Municipal Trial Court in Cities, “without prejudice to refiling.” It’s now at the Regional Trial Court.
But why now? Apparently, the issuance of the arrest warrant was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
To those who don’t know, Bambi had to endure harassment and persecution for posting on social media that Cebu City was “the epicenter in the whole solar system” of Covid-19.
And for that, she was slapped with three criminal cases.
I wonder what happened to the member of the Cebu City Transportation Office who was caught using a vehicle registered under the office to ferry students to and from school on a daily basis?