Atty. Gloria Ramos
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.
— Jacques Cousteau
For a city dweller, it is recharging to sit idly near the shore, watch the waves touch it in a rhythmic fashion and be dazed by the various shades of blue that glimmer in the vast sea.
It is fascinating to see sea birds hovering around and swiftly swooping their hapless prey with military precision. One wonders if the forms of marine wealth that used to lurk in the deep blue are still there for them and our fishers.
One is awakened from the reverie when the small banca with a solitary figure of a sun-kissed fisherfolk looms in the horizon. One can only hope his catch for the day will bring sustenance for him and his waiting family members.
The quality of the artisanal fisher’s life and that of his family depend solely on what the ocean provides him on a day-to-day basis. It is a matter of survival. The ocean is their life, and ours, as well.
He and his peers have repeatedly told authorities that when commercial fishers fish in the municipal waters, which is banned under our Fisheries Code, the seas are emptied. For four or five days, they would have nothing to catch.
Our Constitution mandates preferential access by our subsistence fisherfolk to their traditional fishing grounds.
This is a social justice provision aimed at giving them a fairer chance of having an honorable and dignified life. Thus, the Fisheries Code regulates fishing in the municipal waters, which spans 15 kilometers from the shoreline.
In coastal local government units where there is political will to implement our laws, the illegal fishers are apprehended and cases filed against them to deter their illegal acts.
The local officials even expand their marine protected areas which provide opportunity for the fish to replenish and multiply and benefit the small fisherfolk and us, in the long term.
But in some areas, unfortunately, the fisherfolks’ pleas to stop the illegal competition from the commercial fishers in the municipal waters have fallen on deaf ears.
Recognizing that there are repeat offenders of our fisheries and environmental laws, the Coastal Law Enforcement in Region 7 (Clear-7) has requested the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to take action in suspending or canceling the license of the repeat offenders.
This is an effective deterrence to the commission of illegal acts and embed fishing privilege only to responsible and deserving fishers.
The encroachment of industrial fishers in municipal waters and destructive fishing should already stop. It is high time to act as one in saving our oceans by sustainably managing our fisheries.
It is a worrisome fact that fish populations have declined in the “center of the center of marine diversity in the world” called the Philippines and in many parts of the globe.
When ten of the thirteen principal fishing grounds of the country are overexploited, a fact that BFAR recognizes, the next step is to have rebuilding plans and use intervention tools to restore them to its abundance.
Many still are of the mind-set that the bounty of the ocean is inexhaustible.
A landmark catch reconstruction study by Dr. Daniel Pauly and Dirk Zellere has shown that global fish catch has fallen three times faster than official UN FAO figures, with overfishing as the main cause.
It is helpful that the Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol has vowed to hold accountable public officials who do not perform their mandates of protecting our municipal waters and the livelihoods of small fishers by July.
Fisheries Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona has likewise emphasized that enforcement of our laws is key to improving fish production in the country.
BFAR is now crafting rules for vessel monitoring, observers on board commercial fishing vessels, administrative adjudication and the crafting of the much-awaited national sardines management framework plan.
There is another good news: We do not have to look far in seeing an evolving success story in fisheries and marine protected area management.
Faces of artisanal fisherfolk in Tañon Strait are beaming with joy now that fish catch is increasing and species of fish that they thought they will no longer see in their lifetime are coming back.
They attribute this to the regulations arduously put in place by the Protected Area Management Board and Site Management Units and the sustainable management of their fisheries by the local government units.
Illegal fishing has been reduced.
Those are certainly among the reasons why the 19th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Tañon Strait as a protected seascape on May 27 is a cause for great celebration.
Congratulations to the concerned government agencies and officials, civil society and private sectors and the engaged citizens who are all working hard to have the vibrant and healthy oceans that we and future generations deserve to have.
Atong Tañon, atong ampingan, atong bantayan.