CEBU Gov. Hilario Davide III will meet with three governors in the Visayas to discuss policies on the protection of the Visayan Sea at Bantayan Island on June 5.
Davide, Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. and Masbate Gov. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete signed a resolution last November in which they supported the declaration of the Visayan Sea as a protected area.
Davide recounted in yesterday’s forum with fisherfolk, his experience in a glass-bottomed boat tour he took with environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr. off the coast of Bantayan Island.
“I saw how damaged the coral reefs were and the fish were few,” he said.
The resolution asked President Benigno Aquino III to declare as a protected area the waters beyond the 15-kilometer radius of the towns and cities surrounding the Visayan Sea.
The declaration will prohibit commercial fishing in the Visayan Sea Triangle.
Territorial waters
Environmentalists consider the Visayan Sea contains one of the richest marine biodiversities in the world.
Davide said he believes that illegal fishing and destructive fishing methods caused the decline of the country’s marine ecosystem.
The Visayan Sea is a known sanctuary of 488 of 500 endangered coral species, and 12,000 species of seashells in the whole country.
It covers the territorial waters of northern Cebu, northeastern Iloilo, northern Negros, and southern Masbate.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) will acknowledge “champions of the sea” during the June 5 meeting.
Czareem Joseph Estella, PENRO officer in charge, said they will give recognition to Bantay Dagat volunteers who implement “best practices” in the area.
Estella said he hopes that national director Asis Perez of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will attend the event.
Supplemental budget
“We will be discussing many issues including the patrol boats for the province,” Estella said.
Estella said the province lacks patrol boats to monitor municipal waters.
But he said Director Perez has committed to lend national resources to the province.
Davide suggested that patrol boats be acquired through funds from the province’s supplemental budget.
“We will buy patrol boats with the next supplemental budget, one for the north and one for the south,” Estella said.
Estella serves as the coordinator of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force.
Authorization
Yesterday’s forum held at the Provincial Capitol is part of a joint celebration of farmers’ and fisherfolk’s month, anti-illegal fishing week, and the Oceans Month in June.
Among the issues raised during the forum was the strengthening of the Coastal Resource Management Cluster in the north, particularly in Danao City, and the towns of Poro, San Francisco, Tudela, and Pilar.
Bantay Dagat volunteers also sought authorization from the task force to apprehend illegal fishers.
Estella said they plan to federate all Bantay Dagat volunteers for this purpose.
Estella said the Provincial Attorney’s Office will provide legal assistance to Bantay Dagat volunteers who have apprehended those engaged in illegal fishing activities.