An official of the regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR 11) announced on Monday that the agency has recorded a 27 percent increase in fish productivity following the implementation of the three-month closed season from June to August this year.
BFAR 11 has officially declared on August 31 the resumption of commercial fishing in the Davao Gulf.
BFAR 11 director Raul Millana said the closed season has improved productivity from 4,150 metric tons (MT) in 2020 to 5,279 MT in 2022.
He said that the implementation of the three-month closed season in the area gave small pelagic fishes and the fishing ground to spawn and recover.
“We just concluded the fish closing season started June until August. Last August 31, naa mi culmination sa opening sa fishing season sa Davao Gulf. For the information of everybody, in our assessment, ang Davao Gulf area naay more or less 27 percent productivity increase. Ang supply nato diri okay pa kaayo,” he said during the Kapehan sa Davao at SM City Davao on Monday.
The three-month closed season in the Davao Gulf, which runs from June 1 to August 31 every year, is mandated by the Joint Administrative Order No. 02 between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Its purpose is to provide a spawning season for pelagic fishes in the area and give the fishing area time to recover.
The implementation of closed season for fishing is defined in the Philippine Fisheries Code (Republic Act 10654) as “the period during which the taking of specified fishery species by a specified fishing gear is prohibited in a specified area or areas in the Philippine waters.”
Millana also reported that BFAR 11 also arrested two people for engaging in illegal fishing operations during the closed season and unauthorized fishing within the municipal waters.
The incident took place in Malita, Davao Occidental and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
