Oceana : Stop illegal fishing in Tañon Strait

Management plan needed to conserve marine life in area

Edward Lorenzo, legal councel and policy officer of Oceana (from left); lawyer Lisa Osorio, Philippine Earth Justice Center executive director; and Andres M. Bojos, Bureau of Fisheries and Resources regional director; take on the issues about the Tañon Strait in the Kapihan sa PIA. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

An international ocean care group and government agencies are encouraging fisherfolk in Cebu and Negros to stop illegal fishing in  the Tañon Strait.

Representatives of Oceana, the Philippine Earth Justice Center, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-7 and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 made the call yesterday as they lamented that  increasing incidents of illegal fishing are destroying marine biodiversity in the Tañon Strait, which stretches 100 miles between Cebu and Negros Islands.

The lack of a general management plan for the conservation of the strait has led to  uncoordinated enforcement of the laws against illegal fishing, they said.

BFAR-7 Regional Director Andres Bojos said illegal fishing in the strait may not be that alarming.

Bojos, however, said that they are confused on who should be the lead agent  to protect the Tañon Strait.

“Who’s going to police that area? It’s not under BFAR. It could be the public. What the BFAR can do is give support in the effort to eliminate illegal fishing. One way is to identify if the violator is a commercial fishing boat or not,” said Bojos.

Edward Lorenzo, legal counsel and policy officer of Oceana, , agreed.

The 521,018 hectares of the Tañon Strait is hard to monitor, said Lorenzo for it comprises three provinces and two regions, and more than that, the size of the area is big and the more than 300 LGUs are hard to meet together.

“One of the biggest issues here is that over 17 years since it has been formulated, the management plan for Tañon Strait still has not yet  approved by the body,” Lorenzo said.

Lorenzo was referring to the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of the Tañon Strait with the 42 city and municipal mayors and three governors.

The body, however, will meet on the first Tañon Strait summit, which will be held on Feb. 10 to 12 at the Parklane Hotel, in Cebu City.

Eddie Llamedo,  DENR-7   information officer, said the agreement between the environment department and finance department is to give 70 percent of the fund for the implementation of projects in Tañon Strait.

Llamedo said the average fund for the projects in the strait is P15 million to P17 million, but to implement these projects, there should first be a general management plan.

Lawyer Lisa Osorio of the Philippine Earth Justice Center said that the Tañon Strait is richer than the Tubbataha Reef because of the range of marine habitats in the strait.

Osorio also said that some LGUs are against the establishment of jurisdiction of the strait.