• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Negros Island Region (BFAR-NIR) is preparing the re-appeal for the approval of Negros’ blue swimming crab exports to the United States, with the submission of additional supporting documents targeted for the last week of September.
BFAR-NIR Officer-in-Charge Rene Parreño said the appeal is now being processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the BFAR, with about 75 percent of the required documents already completed.
Parreño said the remaining requirements include supporting documents from local government units (LGUs), particularly local ordinances mandating the monitoring of blue swimming crab catches.
“We need mandatory monitoring to catch blue crabs,” Parreno said, adding that LGU ordinances would help establish monitoring and catch documentation at the local level.
He said BFAR-NIR is seeking the assistance of the LGUs in completing the attachments needed for the re-appeal.
“If the documents are complete, we will submit them by the last week of this month for the re-appeal so that our blue swimming crabs will again be approved,” Parreno said.
Negros Occidental has already approved its Blue Swimming Crab Sustainability and Management Ordinance of 2026, joining Iloilo and Palawan, while BFAR is still awaiting a similar measure from Bicol.
It establishes a comprehensive provincial program for the sustainability, conservation, management, protection, monitoring, restoration and development of the blue swimming crab industry, locally known as “kasag.”
The ordinance also creates the Provincial Blue Swimming Crab Management Council to oversee science-based fisheries management and resource conservation measures.
Among its key provisions are the protection of critical habitats, catch documentation and traceability, industry development, inter-LGU cooperation, enforcement mechanisms and penalties for violations.
Third District Board Member Hope Marey Depasucat, principal author of the ordinance, said its passage is an important step toward preserving the province’s blue crab resources and protecting the livelihood of fisherfolk dependent on the industry. | GPB
