Fishing season eyed in Davao Gulf

Fishery officials are eyeing fishing seasons in the Davao Gulf in the face of dwindling fish production.
According to Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 11 Officer in Charge Jose Villanueva they are looking at a 3-month closed fishing season for galunggong (big bellied round scad) and tuna species in the gulf.
Villanueva said that according to his studies the problem with dwindling catch is fishery management in the gulf. Fisherfolks for example are using finer nets which nets very young fishes. About 40 to 50% of the catch have not reached juvenile stage.
“These fisherfolks still has plenty of catch but the fishes are much smaller.” Villanueva said.
The three month closed fishing season will give these fishes the time and opportunity to spawn eggs.
The fishing season will only apply to the mentioned fish species, for closed seasons, fisherfolks can still catch species not included in the ban. Once it is open season, these fishes can be harvested again.
He cited the close and open fishing season declared in Zamboanga which is limited to sardines, as a measure to prevent overfishing of the particular fish species.
Based on a 15-year old fishery study conducted by Villanueva as early as 1999 fishing has exceeded that of the maximum sustainable yield, which is ecological yield that can be harvested without reducing the base population of the fishery resources.
Under the Implementing Rules and Regulations or IRR of the Davao City Fishery Code Ordinance, the City has the power to implement closed and open fishing seasons within its municipal waters. Villanueva hopes that a unified program for municipal waters of the Davao Gulf can be adopted by the various local government units in the region.  [PIA 11/RG Alama]