4 Visayas govs urge Aquino: Declare Visayan Sea protected

SAGAY CITY, Negros Occidental—Four governors in the Visayas are asking President Aquino to declare the entire Visayan Sea a protected area to prevent big commercial fishers from abusing its rich marine resources.

The appeal was contained in a petition approved during a summit held at   Museo Sang Bata sa Negros in Sagay City on Friday, which was also attended by 20 mayors in the region.

The signatories include Governors Rizalina Seachon-Lanete of Masbate province, Arthur Defensor Sr. of Iloilo province, Alfredo Marañon Jr. of Negros Occidental province and Hilario Davide III of Cebu province represented by his consultant Rodrigo Lachica.

Defensor, who moved for the passage of the petition during the summit, said they would seek President Aquino’s approval to declare the whole Visayan Sea a protected area where only small fishermen would be allowed to fish while big commercial fishing vessels would be banned to conserve marine resources.

The Visayan Sea, one of the country’s major fishing grounds, is surrounded by the islands of Central, Western and Eastern Visayas. It is bounded in the north by Masbate, Cebu and Negros in the south and Panay in the west. It is shared by 22 towns in the provinces of Masbate, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Cebu.

During the Visayan Sea summit on Friday, the governors and mayors unanimously approved the petition, declaring as a protected area the waters beyond the 15-kilometer municipal waters of the towns and cities surrounding the Visayan Sea.

The petition said that after decades of abuse and neglect, the Visayan Sea has been severely degraded and is now on the brink of collapse.

“Commercial fishing destroys coral reefs, seagrass and other fishery marine habitats to the prejudice of the Filipino people now and in the future,” the petition said.

“We want to establish the entire Visayan Sea as the biggest marine protected area in the Philippines,” the petition said.

The declaration would also protect the livelihood of small and marginal fishermen, it added.

Marañon said proper protection of the Visayan Sea would ensure its sustainability to feed the Filipino people.

Lanete assured the summit of Masbate’s commitment to the preservation of the Visayan Sea, especially from large fishing vessels that benefit from it at the expense of small fishermen in her province.

Lachica said Davide shared the same passion and commitment of Marañon, Defensor and Lanete to protect the Visayan Sea.