Sardines biting again off Mindanao

Commercial fishing boats have again been allowed to harvest sardines in the waters of southwestern Mindanao after the government lifted a  three-month closed season on sardine fishing on Friday.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Asis G. Perez said the government had reopened the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay to sardine fishing following the three-month ban aimed at increasing the fish population in the region.

“Our studies on the development of larvae and juvenile of various sardine species during the closed season indicate that the closure was timely and the areas covered were important spawning and nursery grounds for the fish,” Perez said.

The BFAR, an agency under the Department of Agriculture,  imposed a closed season on sardine fishing from Dec. 1, 2011, to March 1, 2012, the months when parent sardines reproduce. Allowing them to breed unhampered for three months would guarantee that there would be new fish next year, the BFAR said.

The BFAR said the strategy appeared to have worked. Based on observations from the fish catches in Sulu and Basilan, the sardines and round scad are nearing maturity, with their length averaging 11 centimeters the size at first maturity for sardines is 14 cm.

According to BFAR studies, for every one ton of fish left to spawn, a threefold increase in the biomass of the fish is expected. However, considering the migratory nature of sardines as well as the vastness of the fishing ground, the change will not be felt until after the next three months, the agency said.

The Zamboanga region is the capital of the country’s sardine canning industry. It has 454 commercial fishing vessels going out to catch species such as sardines, tuna and round scad.

Statistics for 2010 showed that sardines represented about 26 percent of the 1.24-million metric-ton catch from commercial fisheries and 11 percent of the 1.18-million metric-ton municipal fish catch.

The Southern Philippines (Sophil) Deep Sea Fishing Association has backed the expansion of closed seasons to other major fishing grounds.

The group said a closed season should also be imposed in the Bicol region, Leyte, Cotabato and other areas where sardines are also caught.

“If warranted, we will support even a nationwide closure if only to ensure the sustainability of sardine fisheries,” Jimmy Yap, president of YL Fishing, said.

Sophil is composed of 10 companies operating 16 sardine purse seine fleets in Zamboanga and Sulu waters. The group has been urging the government to seriously implement the sardine management plan in the last 6 years.