THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the closed fishing season has started for sardine and mackerel around the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Visayan Sea.
Between Nov. 15 and Feb. 15, sardine commercial fishing using the purse seine, ring net, bag net and scoop net methods are prohibited within the conservation area around Zamboanga waters, covering parts of the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay.
The conservation area spans 6,481.80 square nautical miles, or 22,260.36 square kilometers, covering the western municipal and national waters of Zamboanga del Norte, the waters bordering the south and east of Zamboanga City, and southern Zamboanga Sibugay.
In the Visayan Sea, the catching, selling and buying of sardines, mackerel and herring has also been restricted, until Feb. 15.
The BFAR said in a statement that the prohibitions are intended to conserve and protect these economically important species while they spawn.
The BFAR earlier lifted the 45-day ban on catching Ludong (Cestraeus sp.), known as the “President’s Fish,” following the end of its closed season on Nov. 15.
The Ludong closed fishing season ran from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15. It covered the Cagayan River and its tributaries.
“The annual closed fishing season … is part of ongoing efforts to rehabilitate the Ludong population, (whose) numbers have been declining because of habitat degradation, illegal fishing practices and other detrimental human activities,” BFAR Region 2 said in a statement. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel