DESPITE a recent ruling by the Malabon City Regional Trial Court lifting the ban on the destructive “hulbot-hulbot” or Danish Seine fishing, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is firm on its stand not to legalize its practice.
“Even with a temporary restraining order, it still shouldn’t be implemented,” BFAR-7 Assistant Regional Director Alan Poquita told Cebu Daily News.
Danish Seine fishing involves the use of large rocks or other heavy objects tied to a net and dragging it underwater.
Poquita likens this method to plowing a rice field.
On September 12 last year, Department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala signed the Fisheries Administrative Order 246, banning the said method and the modified version thereof in Philippine waters.
However, the Malabon Regional Trial Court in May issued a TRO on the ban, earning the ire of several people’s organizations and civic society groups.
Yet, Poquita states that dynamite fishing remains to be the most destructive fishing method.
On a positive note, Poquita added that illegal fishing activities involving the use of dynamites and poisonous substances have dwindled, but poaching and commercial fishing still persist.
“People have become more aware about the situation and the government has been really firm in enforcing existing laws that protect the ocean and marine life,” he said.
In the last six months, the Cebu Provincial Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force has carried out 23 operations deemed to be successful, majority of which involved the arrest of individuals in possession of poisoned or dynamited fish.
Task force head Luy Madrigal said the majority of those apprehended are fisherfolk from Bantayan Island, Danao City and as far as Negros.
He said that if illegal fishing, specifically commercial, is stopped, there will be enough fish for everyone.
“The Capitol can’t do it alone. We need the involvement of civilians and small fisherfolk,” said Madrigal.
He also warned against commercial fishing in municipal waters, adding that these are solely meant for local fisherfolk.
Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III in his message during the opening program of the Anti-Illegal Fishing Consciousness Week at the Capitol last Monday said the province is serious in its fight against illegal fishing.
“If we can’t totally eradicate it, we can at least minimize the number of cases,” said Davide.