Bohol to set mariculture
zones, 5 marine parks
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Feb 17 (PIA) –To drastically increase local fish supply, Bohol is poised to declare five marine culture sites within mari-culture zones in the island’s shallower waters, put in at least 100 fish cages in each of the mariculture sites, shares Capitol consultant on fisheries.
During the recent Agri-Fisheries Consultative meeting with the mayors, municipal agriculture and fisheries officers and stakeholders, Capitol fisheries consultant and former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regional director Al Piloton said these fish cages can grow high value fish species, to add to the much-needed supply that can stabilize the price of fish here.
Himself a former regional director in Region 7, Piloton, whose roots are from Candijay, is cognizant of the successes of Bohol in growing pompano, rabbitfish (kitong), sea bass (apahap), emperor fish (katambak), grouper (pugapo), blue and green crabs in cages as well as seaweeds farming, the key legislation could also be a key move to address poverty, secure food, stabilize price and low the foundations for sustained long term growth and fishery sector development.
He also told mayors that the waters from Maribojoc to Candijay can well be the host to the five mari-culture parks while the open and deep waters of Cebu strait to the southern Bohol seas of the Mindanao sea to Anda would be allocated for pelagic fish harvest.
Piloton, who spoke for the governor also talked about intensification of bangus farming in fish cages and engaging in more value-adding activities that make fish attain longer shelf life in its processed form.
The consultant’s thesis was based on the fact that fish harvest that supplies Bohol is only about 10% of the total demand, forcing the price to soar owing to the economics of supply and demand.
The mayors and aggie officials also tackled the proposal to allow more efficient fishing operations in the 10.1 kilometers seaward, operations of which area was then banned by Republic Act 6550.
Presented with the amendment of the Fisheries Code, Capitol intended to get the mayors into deciding whether an ordinance could be passed to allow the entry of small commercial fishers at 10.1 kilometers to operate.
Armed with fish finders and sophisticated technologies, a small commercial fishing operations can dramatically increase fish catch to supply Bohol markets.
The local government not however carries with it provisions and safety nets, according to Piloton.
These include allowing the commercial fishing vessel to drop their nets only in depths beyond 7 fathoms, using only 65 fathom net nets.
The fish caught in this operation would only be unloaded in a port designated by the local government unit exercising jurisdiction of the municipal waters.
Moreover, another safety net is the pre-determination of a competent authority or agency of the carrying capacity of the municipal waters, and that a closed fishing season would be imposed.
The commercial fishing vessel, although belonging to the small commercial fishing category would have also to pay for corresponding fees of every fish aggregating devise established.
The legislated entry of small commercial fishing vessel into some parts of the municipal waters would be accompanied by an assurance of the establishment and reactivation of previously declared marine protected areas and fish sanctuaries as well as the intensification of fishery law enforcement in municipal waters.
As to the Food Security Cluster of the Capitol, in its July 2021 data, at 38.7 kilograms of annual per capita fish consumption, Bohol would need to land 53,900,000 kilograms of fish annually.
This would redound to a daily demand of 147,671 kilos, of which, only 15,038 kilograms are getting to Bohol markets for local consumption.
Getafe mayor Carry Camacho, representing the sentiment of several mayors of coastal towns, bared that in his municipal waters, marginal fishers harvest thousands of kilos, but these have been committed to fish traders in Cebu City, who lend money to the poor fishermen.
The same issue also got reported in Bien Unido, Ubay, President Carlos P. Garcia, Trinidad, Talibon and Buenavista.
Camacho was asking if there is a way they could force their fishermen to land in Bohol instead, where there is a clear gap in the supply. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
FISHED IN GETAFE, LANDED ELSEWHERE. Getafe mayor asks Bohol officials of any law that he can use to implement measures to make sure that their local resources are consumed by local residents. He noted that daily, thousands of kilos of fish and fishery products are sent to Cebu, despite their being take from their municipal waters. (PIAbohol)
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