Fisheries concern on June 5
THE closed season for fishing in Davao Gulf started last June 1, 2018 and it will stay closed until August 31, 2018. This is the fifth year that a closed season for fishing has been implemented in Davao Gulf by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) 11, and has since been gaining support from wider and wider communities of fisherfolk.
During the closed season, catching of small pelagic fishes, specifically, caraballas, galunggong, and matambaka is prohibited. The use of bag nets and ring nets are also prohibited during this season as these nets catch fish on commercial scale. Small fishermen are allowed to fish for as long as they do not use the prohibited gear.
The four years of closed season that have passed have shown varying impacts -- although the positive far outweighs the negative. There is a noted increase in catch at the start, but with extreme weather and changing climate, there is also a noted decrease in fish population.
Whatever, what is underlined is that there is need to harvest from the sea judiciously and protect what remains of the resources for the generations to come.
This is the reason, as well, that June 5 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that IUU fishing activities are responsible for the loss of 11–26 million tonnes of fish each year, estimated to have an economic value of US$10–23 billion. Thus, there is the need to “effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices” by 2020 as provided in Target 4 of Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Agenda adopted in 2015 by the UN General Assembly.
In a world of growing population and persistent hunger, fish has emerged as an important commodity for the achievement of food security. However, efforts by the international community to ensure the sustainability of fisheries are being seriously compromised by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, the FAO reported.
Fisheries provide a vital source of food, employment, recreation, trade and economic wellbeing for people throughout the world. Thus, the annual celebration to drum up concern against IUU fishing activities and spread the word that the neighborhood dynamite or cyanide fisherman may believe he is entitled to do as he wants to provide for his family, his single act multiplied by the number and gravity of all those involved in IUU fishing activities impacts the whole world.
Like the support for the closed season, awareness of illegal acts and their impact on everybody needs to be known by all so that corresponding community actions and support to stop such activities can be garnered.