Task force tags ‘hot spot’ bays in anti-illegal fishing drive

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 26 -- Authorities have identified “hot spot” areas in Eastern Visayas as a result of the joint anti-illegal fishing operations of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo on Tuesday said the joint task force Bantay Kadagatan will focus on areas with rampant illegal fishing activities to prevent depletion of marine resources.

These areas are Danajon Double Barrier Reefs in Leyte, Maqueda Bay in Samar, Carigara Bay in Leyte, Biliran Strait in Biliran, Pacific towns of Eastern Samar and Northern Samar and part of Surigao Strait in Southern Leyte.

Average fish catch in these bays dropped to 2.5 metric tons (MT) in every square kilometer, which is below the ideal five MT harvest.

“Illegal fishing activities is the major culprit. If we will not act now, we won’t have fishes to catch in the future,” he said.

Senior Supt. Ma. Bella Rentuaya, Police Regional Office 8 (Eastern Visayas) spokesperson, said the police dedicated an eight-man team lead by an officer from the regional mobile force company to help fight illegal fishing.

They will be joined by well-trained BFAR personnel during seaborne patrol.

The police committed its patrol boat M/V Lakan for the operations of the newly-formed task force.

“The operations of this patrol boat will cover the territorial sea waters of Eastern Visayas, but we will focus in areas where sightings or reports of illegal fishing have been persistent or alarming based on intelligence gathering,” Rentuaya said in a mobile phone interview.

On September 21, BFAR and PNP signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint task force to strengthen the government’s fight against illegal fishing in the region.

The primary functions of the task force are prevention, deterrence, detection and apprehension of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and other forms of illegal fishing including the prosecution of individuals apprehended during its operations, said Albaladejo.

Meanwhile, BFAR urged local government units to step up their fight against unlawful fishing activities by adopting Republic Act 10654, which amends the Philippine Fisheries Code.

The amended law, passed in 2015, raises the penalties imposed for violation of the fisheries law to a range of PHP500,000 to PHP10 million from the range of PHP10,000 to PHP500,000 imposed under the old law enacted in 1998.

Albaladejo said most local governments are still imposing lower penalties based on the old Fishery Code. The stiffer fines for violators is seen as a significant deterrent against illegal fishing practices. (SQM/PNA)