Tawilis’ 2-month fishing ban in Taal Lake in Batangas ends

Tawilis’ 2-month fishing ban in Taal Lake ends. FILE PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES CALABARZON

LUCENA CITY — The two-month ban on tawilis (Sardinella tawilis) fishing around Taal Lake in Batangas province ended on Tuesday, April 30, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced.

Fishermen in Taal Lake may resume catching tawilis again but they are warned against using destructive fishing methods and gears, like trawls and dredgers, and fine mesh nets, in catching the endangered freshwater sardine, said an advisory of Joseph Pusancho, DENR supervising ecosystem management specialist for the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL) office.

Violators will face penalties.

Pusancho also encouraged the public not to support tawilis caught through illegal methods and to be vigilant and immediately report any witnessed violations to the authorities.

READ:‘Tawilis’ annual fishing ban in Taal Lake to start March

The Protected Area Management Office-TVPL posted the advisory on its Facebook page on Monday.

In 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the tawilis an endangered species, triggering the two-month “closed season,” or fishing ban.

The “closed season” from March 1 until April 30 aimed to preserve the tawilis, which is endemic to Taal Lake. The period is the peak spawning period of the fish.

A female tawilis can produce as many as 18,000 eggs per spawning season, but each fish can grow to only about 12.7 centimeters (5 inches) long.

Tawilis is the world’s only freshwater sardine.