City executes order vs. shark catching

CEBU, Philippines - Recognizing the rampant catching and selling of shark meat in Cebu, the Cebu City government will be strictly implementing the order of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on stopping the illegal act.

City Councilor Nida Cabrera said that in time for the celebration of the Month of the Ocean, Cebu City will help execute BFAR administrative order number 193 for a moratorium on catching and trading of all kinds of sharks including manta rays and theirs derivatives and by-products.

“Cebu is a potential place for tourism. Mao ni nga isda ang ganahan tan-awon diri sa ato. Cebu Province is acting on it and we’re helping,” said Cabrera.

Based on the national data, the Visayan sea is the second largest producer of sharks with about 20 of its species reportedly being traded and transshipped in Cebu, Cabrera disclosed.

While hunting sharks is technically still a legal activity in the country with the absence of a law, conservation groups are calling for BFAR for urgent measures to protect the country’s distinction as the world’s center of biodiversity, said Cabrera.

But BFAR, Cabrera said, has expressed difficulty in protecting vulnerable marine species at the local level in the absence of a national law.

For now, the moratorium is being implemented pending the conduct of a scientific study on the shark population and status in the country.

BFAR is conducting the study in partnership with other government agencies and civil society, with the aim of formulating a national legal framework on shark conservation.

“The significant value of sharks as the marine apex predator which contributes to the health and balance of the marine ecosystem can never be overemphasized,” the Councilor stressed. — (FREEMAN)