The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region 6 has reiterated its call for the public to support the closed season implemented in the Visayan Sea, saying it is for the benefit of the fisherfolk in the long run.

“We need to keep watch of the Visayan Sea because at the end of the day when there are plenty of fishes, it is our fisherfolk who could benefit,” BFAR Regional Director 6 (Western Visayas) Remia Aparri said in an interview yesterday.

Aparri said that although the public is aware of the three-month closed season starting November 15 every year, there is a need for continuous intervention to sustain the effort.

“The closed season is critical to the population of the three species,” she added.

Fisheries Administrative Order 167-3 (2013) prohibits the catching, selling and marketing of sardines, herring and mackerel species.

Aparri admitted that there remain some fishermen, who continue to disregard the law, but said the current public awareness is different as compared with the previous years.

“Right now, we are embarking on a soft approach, touching the hearts of the fisherfolk through a jingle, calling on them to let the Visayan Sea take a rest starting November 16, 2019 to February 15, 2020,” she added.

As the closed season is entering its second month, Aparri assured that the region does not experience any shortage of fish stocks because Western Visayas “is also rich in aquaculture products that come from fishponds.”

The areas covered by the closed season include Barotac Nuevo, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Ajuy, Concepcion, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Balasan, and Carles in Northern Iloilo; Roxas City, Pilar, Pontevedra, President Roxas, and Panay in Capiz; and Northern Negros covering EB Magalona, Victorias City, Manapla, Sagay City, Cadiz City, and Escalante City. (PNA)