A FEMALE rough-toothed dolphin died after being beached in Sitio Guiwanon, Barangay Poblacion in Medellin late afternoon Wednesday.
Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez said he ordered the prompt burial of the mammal in the municipal landfill to prevent people from using its meat.
In Lapu-Lapu, the City Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (CFARMC) has asked the City Council to pass an ordinance banning the hunting, selling, buying and processing of shark meat in the city. In response, the City Council committee on environment, chaired by Councilor Alexander Gestopa, is crafting a draft ordinance banning the trade of sharks.
Federico Padapat, Medellin Bantay Dagat officer-in-charge, said a fisherman and his child saw the dolphin swimming toward the shore.
He said the dolphin, about 1.5 meters in length, may have been lost because of the rough sea and strong winds.
Natural causes
Personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Medellin examined the dolphin and found that it died of natural causes, said Padapat. He said the dolphin stayed too long near the surface of the sea, which caused its death.
Citing the findings of BFAR personnel, he said, the wound found on the dolphin’s rostrum may have been caused during the beaching.
Ramirez said they rarely see dolphins in Medellin and this was the first time that one got beached in the town’s shores.
The amended Cebu Provincial Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Ordinance protects dolphins along with all shark species, rays and other marine creatures that are classified as threatened, vulnerable and endangered.
Lapu-Lapu City is set to have its own ordinance protecting sharks and other endangered marine species.
The proposed ordinance seeks to prohibit the fishing, catching and making use of any species of shark and other endangered marine species like turtles, whales and dolphins.
Resolution
The CFARMC’s July 29 resolution was forwarded to Mayor Paz Radaza and the City Council last Wednesday.
“The decline of shark population worldwide and its vulnerability from illegal fishing is an alarming environmental concern,” read the resolution.
The proposed ordinance in Lapu-Lapu City seeks to penalize violators with a P5,000 fine or imprisonment of one to five months, or both at the discretion of the court.
Once passed, the ordinance will be known as the Marine Animal Protection Ordinance of 2014.
Last Tuesday, Mayor Paz Radaza suspended the operations of a shark fin importer-exporter in Barangay Mactan.
The Lapu-Lapu City Hall found that Shell Haven did not have a mayor’s permit to operate a business.
BFAR 7 revealed that Shell Haven, owned by Andrew Wee, is a licensed importer and exporter of shark fins from Spain.
BFAR 7 Assistant Director Allan Poquita said Shell Haven is allowed to import blue shark fin.