For the first time since it was declared as a protected seascape in 1998, stakeholders meet to come up with a management plan that covers 42 towns and cities in three provinces covered by the Tanon strait in Central Visayas.
Tanon Strait, the biggest marine protected area in the country is plagued by illegal fishing, overfishing, marine pollution and rising population in the affected areas.
Lemuel Aragones, a scientist and professor of the Institute of Environment Science and Metereology College of Science of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, said he noticed a decline in marine biodiversity in the strait.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said 43,000 registerred fisherfolk rely on the Tanon Strait for their livelihood.
“In the past five years, I’ve only seen pilot whales and killer whales only once and they’re not as large as they used to be. They are slowly declining every year and our fisherfolk are getting smaller and fewer fishes,” Regional BFAR Director Andres Bojos said.
According to Oceana’s vice president Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, the fisherfolk told them that this year looks to be the worst in terms of fish catch.
“Without a general management plan, our plans for the Tanon Strait will be fragmented. The Tanon Strait is the receiving end of many watersheds, catchments that are causing sediments in this seascape,” Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
Bojos said enforcement of environmental laws is a challenge to every local government unit covered by the Tanon Strait and the officials in the Tanon Strait Protected Area Management Board (PAMB). Stakeholders include officials from Cebu province, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
The meeting was made possible through Oceana, a non-government organization committed to promote strong policy reforms in protecting the Tanon Strait.
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