• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The three-month closed fishing season for sardines and mackerel in the waters of E.B. Magalona, Victorias City, Manapla, Sagay City, Cadiz City, and Escalante City that are part of the Visayan Sea conservation area will start on Nov. 15.
“Ang closed season sa simple nga tinaga, pahuway ini sang babay – pahuway sang Visayan Sea. Ti-on sang spawning ukon pagbuto sang mga tuloy, tamban, tabagak, balantiyong, guma-a, bulao, kag hasa-hasa, sa sulod sang tatlo ka bulan…asta Pebrero 15, 2025,” the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Western Visayas said Nov. 12.
Aside from the northern part of Negros Occidental, the Visayan Sea also covers north Iloilo, specifically Barotac Nuevo, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Ajuy, Concepcion, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Balasan, and Carles; Roxas City, Pilar, Pontevedra, President Roxas, and Panay in the province of Capiz; and Bantayan Island in Cebu.
Under the BFAR Fisheries Administrative Order No. 167-3, the annual three-month closed fishing season covers species of sardines, like bali sardine, or tamban, tunsoy, haul-haul; goldstripe sardine, or halobaybay, lapad, tamban lison, lapa; fimbriated sardine or tunsoy, lao-lao, tabagak, liryan; and rainbow sardine, or tulis, balantiyong, hilos-hilos.
It is also prohibited to catch short-bodied mackerel or hasa-hasa, and indian mackerel or bulao and alumahan, as well as their larvae, fry or young, locally as lupoy, silinyasi, linatsay, or manansi within the conservation area.
This is to ensure the protection and conservation of these species in the Visayan Sea, which is a major source of food, income, and livelihood for some 20 local government units in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Cebu, and even Masbate.
The three-month ban on the harvest of round scad or galunggong in Northern Palawan is also ongoing until Jan. 31 next year, the BFAR said, adding the use of purse seine, ring net, and bagnet in catching galunggong within the conservation area northeast of Palawan is strictly prohibited.
The closed fishing season is a science-based conservation measure that aims to protect target fish species during their peak spawning period, the BFAR stressed in a statement. “This allows mature fish to freely reproduce, and juveniles to grow and mature, thereby promoting regeneration, sustainability, and the long-term availability of these valuable fish stocks. | CGC
