Palawan to Finally Implement Fishing Season Ban in 2016

Puerto Princesa City (PNA) — The multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary body Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) will push for the implementation of the seasonal fishing ban on the reef-fish-for food (RFF) after elections next year in a bid to save fish production from dwindling.

Nelson Devanadera, executive director of the PCSD Staff, the implementing arm of the inter-disciplinary body, said Monday in a media get-together lunch that though the implementation was stalled this year, the policy has been approved and has to be implemented on species of grouper, whose populations have greatly declined due to over extraction and coral habitat destruction.

“Right after the election… we will implement the policy because it has previously been adopted for implementation. The implementation was just suspended… after June 30, we will already implement,” Devanadera said.

It can be noted that in October this year, the PCSD approved an “Open/Close Fishing Season” policy in Palawan, particularly on the catching of red-orange leopard coral trout or red suno (Plectropomus leopardus), after findings that its population have shrunk.

However, the implementation of the policy was suspended following remonstrations by live fish traders, who claimed the fishing season ban will definitely exterminate their and the livelihood of small-scale fishermen.

But Devanadera insisted that they have beforehand responded to the concerns of the live fish traders, and next year is the time for the strict implementation of the policy to give the grouper species the opportunity to have a breather from over fishing.

“They have raised their concerns and we have already responded through several… series of public consultation. It was approved by the PCSD for implementation,” he stated with finality.

Devanadera said that although there will be a fishing ban, the PCSD is also seriously considering the possibility of grouper culturing to fill what will be perceived as a gap in the live fish industry by the traders.

“Now, we are considering promoting the culture as a… during the close season, then they may do culturing,” he said, which can be traded out of Palawan.

However, before culturing is allowed, Devanadera explained, a strict policy should be imposed too.

“Before that, there should be strict law enforcement because it has importation, and there should be accredited growers for us to know how many they are,” Devanadera added.

Currently, he said a grower has applied in the town of San Vicente in northern Palawan, owned by a Hong Kong national.

Another is the Centre for Sustainability (CFS), a non-profit organization working on sustainable development in Palawan, that produces about 20,000 grouper fries a month.

In the town of Coron, also in northern Palawan, a grouper culturing farm is already operating, he said. However, the produce is only for local consumption.

The culturing farm is reportedly owned by the Lims, and can be explored further should a gap manifest during the fishing ban.

“There is a grower in Coron, but the production is only for local consumption. Basically, they’re culturing on their own and supplying locally,” he said.

With the volume of RFF coming out of Palawan, Devanadera said it is impossible that they were caught using hook-in-line.

Earlier, the PCSD said that if any fishing control policy is not imposed as soon as possible, fish production in Palawan is heading towards destruction five to 10 years from now.

This was reportedly due to the effects of climate change in the sea, and that 50% of the destruction of coral reefs is due to the live fish industry.

In a 2009 research conducted by the PCSD Staff, it discovered that coral damages being in “fair to poor condition” soared to 86.63%, or 707.513 km2, while only 13.37%, or 109.234 km2 remain unspoiled, or in good excellent condition.

As of current, from 2.9% in 2011, only 1.1% of coral reefs stay unspoiled. Although Palawan continues to be the leading source of RFF, this may soon be lost due to the rapidity in fish decline.

This is especially because fishermen no longer discriminate between undersized and oversized RFF.

When imposed, open season will be from January 1 to June 15, and September 1 to October 15. The close season, on the other hand, is from June 16 to August 31, and October 16 to December 15.

This means that the PCSD will also put restraint on the periods of validity of permits necessary for catching live fish. (PNA) FPV/CARF/EBP