Affected fishers cry moratorium before closure of Visayan sea

Some 400 fishermen including owners of commercial fishing boats in the Visayas have asked the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Visayan Sea Squadron to give them a moratorium so they would be able to consider alternative sources of livelihood before the Visayan sea will be closed to commercial and other destructive forms of fishing.

Rosalinda Olivar, the owner of at least 15 boats fishing within the waters of Tangingue Island in Madridejos town said that around 400 fishermen working in their boats will be displaced with the implementation of the closure.

"Mao ra jud ni among panginabuhi ug wala nay lain kung mawala na ang pangisda mag unsa na man lang ang mga mananagat nga nagtrabaho namo? Wala man silay kaugalingong pump boat para ipanagat (This is the only means of livelihood that we have, if there's no alternative what would come of us and the fishermen working for us who don't own any fishing pump boats at all)," Olivar said in an interview. Olivar asked the government to give them alternative livelihood to survive while the closure of the Visayan sea is being implemented.

Earlier, Bantay Dagat Program director Elpidio "Jojo" dela Victoria called on Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and the mayors of concerned municipalities to provide alternative livelihood to the more than 3,000 fishermen expected to be displaced once the closure of the Visayan sea will be implemented.

He said that there is a need to provide alternative livelihood to these fishermen who are working for big commercial boats to sustain the needs of their family.

Aside from the displacement of these fishermen, dela Victoria also mentioned of the daily supply of fish in Pasil market that will also be affected if the petition will be approved.

Around 100,000 kilos of fish will be lost with the closure but this will also benefit the marine biodiversity of the Visayas because this would be a great time for nature to regenerate and benefit marginal fishermen, dela Victoria explained.

The local government units in the Visayas and the Visayan Sea Squadron have petitioned the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to declare the entire Visayan sea an area closed to commercial and destructive forms of fishing.

Aside from that, they will also appeal to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to work for the declaration and listing of the Visayan sea as a UNESCO world heritage site for marine biodiversity. - Jasmin R. Uy