Visayan Sea off-limits to fishing for spawning season

CEBU CITY – Starting Friday (November 15) until February 15, 2020, a portion of the Visayan Sea will be closed to fishing of certain pelagic species – sardines and herrings – to allow them to increase in number as the three-month period has been marked as the spawning season of these species.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-7) in Central Visayas called on the various concerned stakeholders to participate actively in the three-month closed season fishing.

Among the coastal areas around the Visayan Sea are Bogo City and the towns of San Remegio, Daanbantayan, and Medellin. The Bantayan Island, comprising of the towns of Santa Fe, Bantayan, and Madridejos, lies within the sea.

BFAR-7 regional director Alfeo Piloton appealed to local officials and authorities to assist them in guarding the Visayan Sea in its anti-illegal fishing campaign.

The Visayan Sea is one of the country’s largest fishing grounds surrounded by the islands of Cebu and Negros to the south; Masbate to the north; Panay to the west; and Leyte to the east, he added.

He also asked commercial fishing vessel operators to comply with the policy and avoid encroaching on the portion where fishing of the pelagic species is banned.

Piloton urged the local officials and the coastal communities to cooperate with the bureau in its effort to conserve and protect the existing marine species in the Visayan Sea.

“People should know the significant intentions of implementing this policy because we are not only doing this in order to increase our current fishery production, but we are imposing this to conserve our marine resources to make sure that the future generation will benefit the same,” Piloton said.