Fishing ban sa tawilis, inalmahan

Sa halip na magpatupad ng fishing ban, regulasyon na lang sa pagtatayo ng mga fish pen ang hiling ng grupo ng mga lokal na mangingisda sa Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), kaugnay ng ulat na nanganganib nang tuluyang maglaho ang Sardinella tawilis, ang tanging freshwater sardine sa mundo na sa Pilipinas lang mahahango.

“Instead of comprehensively and holistically addressing the shortage of tawilis, (BFAR) Director (Eduardo) Gongona is resorting to a futile solution that will obviously put the livelihood of small fisherfolk at stake,” panawagan ni Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) National Chairperson Fernando Hicap.

“We reiterate that it’s the unsustainable aquaculture practices in Taal Lake, such as unregulated expansion of fishpens that cause such kind of ecological imbalance,” giit ni Hicap.

Base sa resulta ng pag-aaral ng International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), nasa endangered category na ang tawilis dahil sa overfishing, ilegal na paggamit ng mga active fishing gears, pagdami ng mga baklad, at pagbaba ng kalidad ng tubig.

Ayon kay Hicap, ang mga fish pen na nagku-culture ng mga bioinvasive fish species ay hindi lang nagdudulot ng polusyon at nagpapasikip sa lawa, ngunit ito “pave way for an invasive fish species to takeover the population of native species like Tawilis by preying on them.”

Binigyang-diin ng Pamalakaya na mayroong 5,000 aquaculture structures sa Taal Lake, sa kabila na 2,342 ektarya lamang ang carrying capacity ng lawa para sa aquaculture.

“Even if you restrict small fishers from catching Tawilis for a long period of time, as long as fishpen structures continue to pollute and expand to way beyond the lake’s carrying capacity, Tawilis and other native species in Taal Lake won’t last a day,” ani Hicap.

“We call on the BFAR to address this issue fair and square by investigating the irregularities and unsustainable practices of aquaculture owners in Taal Lake. Fish ban will never be the solution to any shortage but will only worsen the suffering of small fishers,” panawagan pa niya.