Is Dynamite Fishing Back in Talisay City?

Talisay City’s Lagundi Reef was rocked by a blast believed to be coming from a dynamite at around 7 am Tuesday.

Alfie Fernandez, a SCUBA diver who lives in the shores just about 500 meters from the said marine sanctuary, said he has heard blast sounds from Lagundi reef area especially in the early morning. “Pirmi naman na, sukad wala na nila gibutangan og gwardiya,” Fernandez said.

At around 7 am Tuesday , Magam Ocariza, a buyer of fish, reportedly chanced upon the blasting inside the Lagundi Reef, a supposed non-fishing zone. Ocariza said he saw three boats, which he believed came from Barangay Tangke.

Fernandez said that last Saturday, he and his group went for a dive in Lagundi and saw several dead fishes floating at about five meters underwater of the said reef. Fernandez said that judging from the looks of the dead sea creatures, he believed they were results of a blasting activity.

Fernandez said they reported the incident to the City’s Bantay Dagat, the Fishermen Sea and Ecological Care (Fiseca), so that the culprits would be apprehended. But unfortunately, the Fiseca had no pump boats.

The City spend thousands or even millions in rehabilitating the Lagundi Reef, which started in 2006. It even allocates P500,000 from its annual budget solely for its upkeep. But as of press time, there are no buoys or a single guard that mans the said marine sanctuary, making it an easy target to fishers.