The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-11) said that as of January 1 this year, Davao region already has 50,868 fishermen registered as part of a nationwide registration program covering fisherfolk and local fishing vessels.
The data is based on the information collected through the Municipal Fisherfolk Registration Program (FishR) that was launched in August 2013.
“This was because of the collaborative efforts of the fisheries bureau, municipal fisherfolks groups and the local government units (LGUs) in the region,” said BFAR 11 Regional Director Fatma Idris.
But the counting of BFAR-11 as to the number of fisherfolks also represents how many persons in the sector are currently affected by the effects of climate change in Davao Gulf that resulted to decrease of production for the past years.
Idris said fish production in the region was only 43,657 metric tons during the 3rd quarter of last year.
“A lot of our fisherfolks like the close season at the Davao Gulf to allow more species of fishes to thrive,” she pointed out.
Close season at the Davao Gulf is implemented every June to August of each year.
Idris said most of the more than 50,000 registered fishermen in the region now directly benefit from close season.
Most of the individuals registered in the database consists of people who are into fishing and fishing-related activities including direct fisherfolk, fish vendors, and fish traders.
The Davao Region has 49 municipalities, 24 of which are coastal towns and six cities.
“We have trained Agriculture Technicians for Fisheries in the 49 towns on the how to use the online registration,” Idris said.
She said there are still some fisherfolks that have not been registered online because of various challenges faced by BFAR and the municipalities.
“Most of the coordinators are holding full-time jobs, so they have to multi-task and allocate limited time for fisherfolk registration,” Idris explained, adding that some areas are still facing inadequate logistic support such as computers, scanners, cameras, and access to the internet connection in some regions.
Idris said while they used to have a list of fisherfolk, it was not as many and as complete as the latest database which is more reliable.
“We had to do it because the Fisheries Bureau in the region needs to double check the registration form sent to them [fisherfolks] and verify the data with the online registration for validation purposes,” Idris explained.
Meanwhile, BFAR 11 targets to replace all wooden banka in the region to fiberglass boats under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
BFAR 11 Regional Director, Fatma Idris said that the Department of Agriculture pledge to help the BFAR in replacing all the wooden boats in the region to motorized fiberglass boats.
Idris said that they are targeting to release a total of 3,000 fiberglass boats until 2018, however, they would like to continue the program until all the fishermen in the region will use the new boats.
“In 2 years time we are targeting to release 3,000 (fiberglass boats) after the 3,000 we would still like to continue giving, we can’t just stop by 3,000,” Idris said.
She said that they would like to displace all the wooden boats to give a more sustainable livelihood to the fisher folks in the region.
In 2016, BFAR has released a total of 300 fiberglass boats through DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
In the entire region, the BFAR has recorded 50,868 fishermen and 8,806 wooden boats.
Idris said that the fishermen who uses fiberglass boats increased their catch from 3kls to 10 kls per day because they can go farther than the wooden boats can.
“Because the fishermen can now go farther with the motorized fiber glass boats, they have increased their catch and it somehow gives them a more sustainable livelihood,” she said.
For the year 2017, they are targeting to increase the catches from 43,657 metric tons in the 3rd quarter of 2016 to 65,597 metric tons.
Idris said that the before they release fiberglass boats to a certain local government unit, one must identify first the beneficiaries in their city as part of their counterpart.
She said that they have increased the number of the molders of the fiberglass boats to increase its production. (Tiziana Celine S. Piatos & Funny Pearl A. Gajunera)
