Drive against illegal fishing goes full throttle in Albay

LIGAO Mayor Patricia Gonzalez-Alsua checks on the mangroves in the Albay city’s coastal village of Catburawan. MAR S. ARGUELLES/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

LIGAO CITY—Hundreds of fishermen in three villages here and in the neighboring town of Pio Duran are now harvesting a bounty of fish after local and national government agencies intensified their campaign against illegal fishing in the Burias-Ticao Pass.

Melquiades Bellen, chief of the coastal village of Catburawan, said the fish haul had greatly improved over the past years when it was just enough for daily family subsistence. He cited the Bantay Dagat Task Force (BDTF) for helping protect the small fishermen from purse seine operators who usually encroached on the 15-kilometer municipal waters.

The task force’s regular sea patrol has discouraged big fishing vessels from entering the municipal waters, he added.

Only three of the 55 barangays (villages) of Ligao are by the sea, but the coastline of Catburawan, Maonon and Cabarian stretches 11 km. The three villages, along with those in the towns of Pio Duran and Libon, comprise the west coast flank of Albay’s third district.

Fishers in the Burias-Ticao Pass had long been complaining of destructive fishing practices of commercial fishing vessels. The campaign of the Bantay Dagat Task Force since 2012 when it was created has resulted in the arrest of illegal fishers and confiscation of two purse seine boats, 45 “palakaya” (Danish seine and ring net) fish boats, four “hulbot” (fine mesh nets), a compressor, and other fishing gadgets.

Ten illegal fishing cases have also been filed in court.

The BDTF, officially called the “Anti-Illegal Fishing and Fishery and Aquatic Resources Protection Task Force,” is composed of the Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army (PA), the city government and the office of Rep. Fernando Gonzalez of Albay’s third district.

It has 15 deputy fish wardens and 13 deputized and fully armed members belonging to the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu), who operate from three patrol bases in the coastal villages.

At least P3 million had so far been spent for its activities since 2012, Ligao Mayor Patricia Gonzalez-Alsua said. The funds come from the city government, the office of Gonzalez and the Army.

Alsua said the task force was also guarding three fish sanctuaries and marine reserves in the villages, with an aggregate area of 135 hectares.

The city government has also developed a 62-ha mangrove plantation in Sitio Tambak in Cabarian, where 340,000 mangrove propagules had been planted since 2008. It initiated a coral reef rehabilitation and seagrass protection program.

The local efforts to curve illegal fishing has gained recognition from Greenpeace, a worldwide environmental organization.

On Saturday, also World Ocean Day, Vince Cinches of Greenpeace acknowledged that sustained fishery management program during a recognition ceremony here. He estimated that illegal fishing activities in the Burias-Ticao Pass were brought down by 20 percent.

About 60 percent of fishing operators in the country go to the Burias Pass, Asid Gulf and Catanduanes to catch fish, said Chief Supt. Victor Deona, PNP regional director. They come from Zamboanga, Cebu, Capiz, Quezon and as far as Navotas and Malabon cities in Metro Manila.

Cinches said the program would serve as a model for other nearby towns. The Burias-Ticao Pass covers the coastal towns in the provinces of Masbate, Sorsogon, Albay and Camarines Sur.