Curbing illegal fishing through environmental stewardship

ILOILO CITY—One way to stop illegal fishing in the Visayas is to promote environmental stewardship programs, an environmental lawyer said.

“The best form of law enforcement is when the laws do not need to be enforced because everyone else is abiding by them,” said Antonio Oposa Jr., renowned environmental lawyer.

Oposa reiterated the need to recognize programs to revive the Visayas Sea, which has been degraded in the past decades.

Oposa made this a point as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) implements the amended Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, which totally bans hulbot-hulbot or Danish Seine fishing.

Oposa led the launching of the Pasalamat sa Katauhan Movement (People’s Gratitude Movement) in Iloilo last year to recognize good government programs that push for environmental preservation.

Pasalamat is a partnership between the Iloilo provincial government under Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. and the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas.

“We are going to recognize those who do good,” Oposa said.

He cited the works of Defensor and Alfredo Marañon Jr., who were both recently recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Bangkok, Thailand, for their campaign to curb illegal fishing in the Visayas Sea.

Oposa also mentioned the work of Dr. Ildefonso Toledo, chief of the Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office, who has been promoting rainwater harvesting. (TARA YAP)