Boat registration, a must in Tagum

TAGUM CITY —Tagumenyo fisherfolks temporarily stopped fishing for a day to attend a free seacraft registration by the local government unit of Tagum City.

On March 20, as early as 8 a.m., fisherfolks from the barangays of Liboganon, Busaon, Madaum, San Isidro, and. Bincungan which are the coastal barangays of Tagum were gathered by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in partnership with the City Agriculture Office (CAGRO).

Fisherfolks were offered a free registration of motorized and banca de bugsay (non-motorized) passenger and non-passenger boats in their makeshift registration booth at the coastal area of Brgy. Liboganon.

The activity is an initiative by the government to protect the fisherfolks against various forms of abuse from fellow fishermen and other groups.

This will also serve as a means to monitor the docking areas of the boats especially those duly registered sea crafts to identify which of them are from the city.

There are 185 motorized and non-motorized vessels officially registered after the one-day affair.

The activity is a joint venture with the Philippine Coast Guard 11, Philippine National PoliceMaritime Police 11, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 11 – Smartseas of the World Wide Fund (WWF).

Smartseas project manager Ricky Biyo urged the residents near the coastal area to help preserve the Davao Gulf.

In a similar way, PO3 Erolyn D. Pito, PCB of PCG 11 requested the residents’ assistance to help counter the illegal activities, such as illegal fishing and terrorism threats, that might occur in the area.

Councilors Ronald Eliot and Rey Cyril Alba shared some future plans for the area to promote tourism activities and livelihood innovations. They also promised training workshops on how to maintain and preserve the Maritime protected area in the city.

Meanwhile, Mayor Allan L. Rellon led the oath taking of the Tagum City Fishery Law Enforcement Trainee (TC-Flet) during the second part of the program. The mayor appealed to the public to maintain the cleanliness of the seashore.

The boats were proposed to be painted apple green with orange stripe (to be provided by Davies for free) for night trip to provide uniform color for all Tagum seacrafts. They will also be given numbers which will be registered nationwide.

The next boat registration will be conducted per barangay.

LEO TIMOGAN/CIO TAGUM BOAT REGISTRATION. Fisherfolks of Barangays Liboganon, Busaon, Madaum, San Isidro, and Bincungan flocked at the coastal area of Brgy. Liboganon for the free boat registration spearheaded by CENRO and CAGRO of Tagum City on March 20, 2018.

LEO TIMOGAN/CIO TAGUM TAGUMPAY. Mayor Allan L. Rellon, together with Councilors Ronald Eliot and Rey Cyril Alba, national line agencies’ representatives, and city officials pose using the Tagumpay sign with one of the fishermen to award the copy of the registration document.

LEO TIMONGAN/CIO TAGUM TAGUMENYO FISHERFOLKS. Boats were measured and motor machines were inspected (for motorized boats) to fill in necessary information for the registration of the seacrafts. The Tagumenyo fisherfolks themselves assisted the LGU personnel during the boat...