A three-month ban on the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) will be implemented by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources as part of its commitment to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s tuna conservation initiative, the BFAR said.
The ban on these devices, locally known as payaos, would be implemented in July up to September and covers all purse seine and ring net vessels operating in the high seas, BFAR National Director Asis Perez said.
Recently designated by department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala as his alter ego in the rehabilitation effort in the Eastern Visayas, Perez said the prohibition of setting FADs is in line with WCFPC’s conservation and management measures for big-eye, yellowfin and skipjack tuna.
Alcala is referring to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), a regional fisheries management organization that addresses problems in the management of high seas fisheries.
According to Perez, FADs are placed by fishermen to float over the waters to try and increase their catches. Used for centuries, increasing prevalence of use and concerns over these man-made structures’ potential impact to fish supply resulted in the growing calls for restrictions on its use.
The rafts, for example, can be simply floating tree logs or bamboo shelters under which fish tend to congregate. Fishermen have long recognized this behavior, and have created FADs of many types, sparing not even the smaller sized fish.
In line with the order, Perez said the BFAR will conduct annual inspection and marking of purse seine and ring net fishing gears to ensure compliance to the reduced net depth established under Fisheries Administrative Order 236, which is around 115 fathoms.
Perez also said all catch vessels will be required to carry onboard accredited monitors and fisheries observers, who shall gather data and recommend further improvements during the closure period.
Fishing companies and individuals caught using unauthorized nets during the FAD closure period would face penalties, the BFAR chief added.
Penalties run from P100,000 to P300,000 for small-scale commercial fishing; P400,000 to P700,000 for medium-scale commercial fishermen; and P800,000 to P1 million for large-scale operators, the BFAR said in a statement on Monday.
Fishing companies may also face confiscation of catch and cancellation of permit to operate in the high seas, Perez added.
To recall, the Philippines’s request for an extension for the access to the high seas Pocket 1 (an area near Palau) has been approved by the WCPFC during the 10th regular session of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly-Migratory Fish Stocks.
This continued fishing access is a result of the Philippines’s commitment to ensuring long-term sustainability of highly migratory fish stocks parallel with rights under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, UN Fish Stocks Agreement and the WCPFC Convention and the country’s adherence to progressive implementation of the Commission’s management measures, according to Perez.
For two years now, the Philippines is the only nation allowed to go fishing in the high seas Pocket 1 following a series of proposals set before the WCPFC.
2014 BusinessMirror