BFAR Implements ‘Closed Season’ in the Sea

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic (BFAR)7 is implementing a yearly “closed season” program from November 15, 2014 to March 15, 2015 to protect small fishes from fishermen especially this time that El Niño phenomenon is being felt.

Senior Aquaculturist Arzon S. Tan of BFAR7 on Monday said closed season is implemented yearly to allow small fishes to grow into marketable status before it falls to human consumption.

Tan also noted that the presence of hot season is a sign of the El Niño phenomenon which will surely affect fishes’ growth.

Tan said a closed season is a fishers’ law which bans fishermen from catching large portion of small fishes for marketing. This is the period where sardines and mackerels are closely guarded by the government from illegal fishers because they cannot reach the standard size if fishermen are allowed to catch them while they are yet physically small is size, Tan said.

“However, if it is only for human consumption especially for the family of a fisherman, we are giving them exemption”, Tan said.

Tan also said that the Bantay Dagat personnel are instructed to roam around their areas of responsibility as mandated to them by law.

“Every now and then (they) will enforce the law and to arrest all law violators,whether they small or big fishermen,” he said.

Tan explained that this is because when the El Niño or hot season comes,some of the fishes are going to the deepest part of the sea.

But even those fishermen using fishing vessels for commercial purposes may suffer the same as what the small ones will experience, as fishes in this period is dominantly scarce due to hot the weather condition which apparently affect the sea waters.

On the part of BAFR, Tan stressed that while they are protecting fishermen especially the small ones, they are at the same time protecting fishes in the sea.

“While fishes are basically given by God for human consumption, but the law clearly states that they should not be abused or else only big fishers could catch them but not the small fishermen who are always behind as far as fishing gears are concerned”, Tan said.

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