LET us continue our discussion on the fish problem in the province.
Importing fish from Zamboanga is an option. But there are problems. Transport cost and the long journey is a threat to the quality of the fish.
How much?
Accordingly, from Zamboanga up to Cebu province, the added cost per refrigerated truck is 9,000. If the fishes are brought to Bohol, the added cost would build up to 27,000 per truck.
And that becomes another problem because the add-on transport cost would play havoc to the retail price of the fish.
So if the refrigerated truck is not really of good quality, the fishes inside would hardly be attractive to buyers when sold in the local market. That plus the add-on transport cost, and poof, bye bye for that solution.
Many times, fish truckers have bad experiences in Bohol. When the fish is not attractive, the local traders naturally refused to buy it, resulting to big losses of the truckers. This is the reason they prefer to deliver their fish in Cebu.
Why?
Because Cebu traders will still buy seemingly wilted fish for bulad purposes, something which we don’t have in Bohol.
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If the mayors of the coastal towns would only cooperate, and not just murmur their complaints, we can very well address the problem.
One, the mayors should have a first-hand knowledge on the actual fish production and the actual fish consumption in his own municipality.
Knowing the difference will give him a better idea on how to address the problem. If he has excess, then he must know where to divert them for better use. If he has deficit, he should know where to source it out, either from the sea or inland.
If from the sea, he should know the number of local fishers, what are their implements or tools and what is the average volume of their daily catch. Holding dialogues with them will greatly help because he will get good inputs from them. He will know what ails the local fishing industry. And he will have better idea on addressing them. Staying in office and relying only on information from the mayor’s friends or allies is definitely not a solution.
If the municipality has savings that can be utilized as “pautang” to the local fishers, or can make arrangements with local banks for “pautang nga dalang palugit”, so much the better. To make the credit facilities workable, the fishers should be organized as a coop, so they can also avail of soft loans from the government, apart from securing financial assistance from the CDA.
Organizing them is the first step towards addressing the fish shortage.
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Inland fishery is also an option. Many LGUs have their own backhoes that are sometimes on stand-by. These backhoes can be used to construct barangay fishponds in areas where there is abundant and steady fresh water supply.
Once it is well-constructed, the local BFAR office is ready to provide fingerlings, per Dr Mario Ruinata, the OIC-RD of BFAR-7. Doc Mario said they have already prepared enough fingerlings for LGUs that need them in the region. BFAR personnel can also provide helpful inputs in the proper maintenance of barangay fishponds, so that the fish produced thereat will be fat and delicious and not smelly too.
So far, only the town of Carmen has shown success in raising tilapia.
Successful, I should say, because the residents of Carmen have grown to love to eat their locally produced tilapia. Meaning, even if you have a good fresh catch of tilapia but the people do not eat them, then that is an abject failure.
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It is also admirable if the LGUs would observe the open and closed season in local fishing.
Closed season is the period during which the taking of specified fishery species by a specified fishing gear is prohibited in a specified area or areas in the Philippine waters. Basically, the purpose of implementing closed season for fishing is to preserve depleting supply of specific fishes
Closed season is usually observed from November to February, the months mostly observed to be the spawning months of local fishes.
Among those regularly included in the closed-season are round scad or “galunggong,” sardines, herring and mackerel fishing, all in the Visayan Sea.
Over-fishing is a big no-no that’s why there is this closed season. During the closed season, local farmers can go inland fishing or explore other marine resources.
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How about the local commercial fishers?
Well, if these commercial fishers are utilized by the LGUs, I suppose the acute shortage of fish in the municipality can be addressed.
Coastal municipalities are blessed with rich municipal waters that can be harnessed for fish production. Utilizing them is feasible provided there is proper regulation thru ordinances.
For instance, they can only fish outside of the 10 kilometer but within the 15 kilometer municipal waters. This far, local fishers can still have exclusive domain over that area from the seashore up to the 10 kilometer distance.
Pasabot, di gyod sila makulban og kaldero kay makapanagat ra man gihapon sila.
To ensure observance of this regulation, the LGUs should provide Sea Marshalls per commercial fishing boat. They will verify the distance from the seashore aside from ensuring that only allowable and legal fishery practices are employed.
This means that the LGUs should seek advise from the BFAR on what to allow and what not to allow. For instance, they can order, thru an ordinance, that only specific sizes of fish are allowed, female fishes that are spawning or buntis should be returned to the sea.
The Sea Marshalls will also know how much is the total fish production for the day and what time these fish produced is available in the market.
One condition that must be imposed is that the total fish production from commercial fishers should be brought exclusively to the municipality concerned. And for that, the municipality should also ensure that the fish catch of local commercial fishers is adequately and reasonably compensated.
Kon mahalin dayon ang ilang abot anang adlawa sa husto nga presyo, way rason nga dili na sila mosuporta sa programa sa LGU.
In other words, kon buhaton lang, dili kay magsigi lang og reklamo sa kamahal sa isda, each LGU can work to address this problem. And if all the coastal LGUs will do the same, then we are on our way to achieving fish self-sufficiency.
Gets?
