Ben Madilynn
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) XI announced that the annual closed fishing season in the Davao Gulf, implemented from 2020 to 2023, has recorded an increase of 17 percent in catch volume, or approximately 900 metric tons in landed catch this year.
“We have observed an increasing trend of the fish catch in volume compared to the catches we have seen in earlier years of the implementation,” Rose Antoneth Loquere, National Stock Assessment Program project leader, said during the culmination of the 11th Davao Gulf Closed Season at Davao Fish Port Complex, Davao City, on August 30.
During the closed season, the use of bag nets, ring nets, or modified fishing gear with similar operations is strictly prohibited. However, the use of hooks, lines, or other approved gear is allowed, given that an appropriate permit was sought from Bfar.
Violators of the closed fishing season may face fines, imprisonment, seizure of fish catch and gear, and license revocation.
She added that the reason why the increase is only recently felt is because it takes around four to five years before the fish stock can regenerate and reproduce.
Loquere reiterated the importance of continuous implementation of the annual closed fishing season and the imposition of other mechanisms to protect and preserve, particularly the small fish that composed 75 percent of the fish species in Davao Gulf, namely: big-eyed scad (matambaka/matangbaka), mackerel (karabalyas/alumahan), scad (galunggong), and moonfish (bilong-bilong).
The juveniles of these fish species are primarily the ones being caught, especially using bag nets and ring nets.
“While the closed season temporarily increases yung ating fish abundance, it also allows the regeneration of our small pelagic fishes, but these benefits also may diminish if juvenile fishes are heavily targeted,” she explained.
She added, “Maybe closed season alone is not enough; pwede tayong makapagdagdag ng other management measures, for example, our efforts to reduce the IUU fishing and to strengthen our law enforcement and law implementation activities.”
Meanwhile, BFAR-XI Regional Director Relly B. Garcia lauded all agencies and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the closed season by saying, “These gains are testaments to what we can achieve when we work together for a common purpose.”
The closed fishing season in the Davao Gulf was established through Joint Administrative Order No. 02, Series of 2014, between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which establishes a three-month closed season, from June 1 to August 30, giving small pelagic fish in the Davao Gulf time to regenerate and reproduce. PIA DAVAO
