AROUND 150 kilos of dead stingrays worth P60,000 were seized in Cebu City in May, according to the City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF).
This was confirmed by DVMF head Dr. Jessica Maribojoc in an interview with SunStar Cebu on Friday, June 9, 2023.
Maribojoc urged the public not to capture stingrays or pagi in Cebuano because they are a great help to the sea. One benefit of not killing stingrays is that they help control the population of various marine organisms such as small fish, crustaceans and mollusks. By preying on these species, stingrays help prevent them from becoming too abundant and disrupting the delicate balance within the food web.
“We must never sell them in the market because they are a great help to our oceans. We will really reinforce protection for these protected marine species,” she said.
Stingrays are also essential because they prevent algae overgrowth, which contributes to the decline of coral reefs, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 has warned the public against illegal fishing and trading of all kinds of protected marine species, including stingrays, manta rays and sharks.
Surprise inspection
Maribojoc said the stingrays were confiscated during a surprise inspection of stalls that sell fish products in the Pasil Fish Market.
She said the protected marine species were discovered after a fish container was accidentally dropped. Upon investigation, the DVMF was surprised to find the stingrays inside.
Maribojoc said the stingrays were brought to Cebu City from the Zamboanga Peninsula in Mindanao.
After confiscation, the DVMF buried the stingrays as a reminder to the public that they are not allowed to be sold or eaten.
Legal sanction
Maribojoc said selling endangered marine species, such as stingrays, manta rays, pawikan (turtles) and sharks, is illegal under City Ordinance 2496.
Maribojoc said the merchant from whom the stingrays were recovered was exempt from prosecution because it was the offender’s first violation. However, the merchant was given a citation ticket and fined P5,000.
If the same offender is found participating in the sale of protected stingrays for a third time, the offense will be forwarded to the City Legal Office and it could lead to the offender’s imprisonment.
Maribojoc said that under the ordinance, marine wildlife within Cebu City’s jurisdiction must be preserved, and she urged the public to refrain from patronizing and consuming protected animals.
Illegal and prohibited
This was echoed by BFAR 7 information officer Laila Bragat, who explained that if no one consumes these marine species, no one will be interested in catching them in their natural habitat.
Bragat emphasized that catching these marine species is highly discouraged. She said that in Cebu Province alone, there is an existing prohibition under Provincial Ordinance 2015-21 that penalizes the sale and transport of sharks and stingrays.
She said local government units (LGUs) must strengthen regulations against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, particularly within municipal waters. Municipal waters are areas covered within 15 kilometers from the coastline, wherein the nearby municipal or city government has jurisdiction.
Protected seascape
According to Bragat, IUU fishing is not frequent in Central Visayas since marine sanctuaries, where these protected marine species are commonly found, already have heightened protection against offenders.
“These sharks and rays in our region can be found in the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, which is a designated protected area,” Bragat said in a mix of Cebuano and English
The Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, located between the islands of Cebu and Negros, is the largest marine protected area in the Philippines, covering an area of 5,182 square kilometers.
Under Presidential Proclamation1234, which created the protected seascape in 1998, the entire Tañon Strait is protected, and all cetaceans are afforded full protection by local and national laws.
According to a report by the United States Agency for International Development and BFAR in 2021, the country loses P62 billion or $1.2 billion annually due to IUU fishing.
The report also stated that the annual catch through illegal fishing in the Philippines ranges from 516,000 to 716,000 metric tons.