WE will talk about the burgeoning prices of fish in the province.
One question that’s bogging everyone’s mind is this – the province is surrounded by the sea, how come we suffer from fish shortage?
I asked a former BFAR-7 regional director and his answer was direct to the point.
Our fish supply in Bohol is not enough, there is shortage and that basically explains why the price of fish is very high, he said.
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So what is the solution?
There are so many, either short-term or long-term, he ventured.
Short-term is to import fish from other sources, from other provinces. Bringing in surplus fishes from other provinces and presto, there is fish supply in Bohol. Of course, we have to consider transport cost and that becomes a price multiplier.
Short-term is to require commercial fishers in Bohol to bring and sell their produce in the province, and stop the usual practice of landing them in other provinces in order to maintain the high cost of fish in the local market.
Long-term is to review the fishery ordinances in the coastal municipalities of the province and allow commercial fishers to fish in municipal waters upward of 10 to 15 kilometers from shoreline.
Easy?
Not that easy.
Why?
Only a handful (as in 5 or 6) mayors are interested, the rest are not interested or do not subscribe to the idea.
If there are about 30 coastal municipalities and only a handful of mayors are interested to review their local fishery ordinances, how can we address the severe and acute fish shortage?
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What is the rationale in allowing commercial fishers to fish within municipal waters?
A single commercial fisher can produce an average of 10 to 15 bañeras of fish in a day’s catch while a single fisherman can produce between 5 to 10 kilos per day. Combine all the town fishers altogether and they can hardly equal the output of even a single commercial fisher.
This means that allowing commercial fishers to fish in municipal waters can, in theory, already suffice the town’s fish needs, though this concept needs to be actually validated.
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Where lies the objection or dis-interest of the majority of the mayors?
The common excuse was their concern for the protection of their territorial waters.
Ahem.
Another was their concern for the livelihood of their local farmers.
Ahemm again.
On the first ahem, their concern is valid but this needs to be clarified. Allowing commercial fishers to fish within municipal waters does not, per se, cause destruction of the marine resources of the coastal town.
Why?
The LGU can easily assign “boarders” to join the fishing boat as they fish and make sure that no hanky-panky is committed while fishing. Naturally, the “boarders” or sea marshalls should be familiar on fishery laws. With the sea marshalls on board, the Mayor can rest easy that his territorial waters are amply protected.
They can also legislate thru their local ordinance that female fishes should be freed, especially when they are “buntis.” Moreover, they can also include size regulation such that only fishes that meet the required size should be caught, smaller ones should be freed. They can also schedule open and close season for fishing, in order to allow fish spawning and prevent over-fishing.
During close season, the local fishers can turn to their freshwater fishponds impregnated with bangus or tilapia fingerlings. How to do that, well, they can devote their respective Backhoes to be used for digging and constructing fish ponds and also request free fingerlings from BFAR.
So there is no shortage of fish and LGUs can easily produce their own fishes, from inland or outland.
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How about the second ahem – basin makulban og kaldero ang mga local fishers?
Well, they can be organized into coop clusters and be the ones to buy and sell the fishes caught by commercial fishers. And they will become fisher-entrepreneurs, right?
Kon magkugi lang god ang mga Mayors, walay imposible nga mahitabo.
Gets?
To be continued….
