ILOILO – The provincial government’s campaign against the prohibited hulbot-hulbot fishing has gotten a big boost.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) approved a proposed update to Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 246 banning Danish Seine and Modified Danish Seine, locally termed hulbot-hulbot.
Danish Seine and Modified Danish Seine are active gears consisting of a conical net with a pair of wings, the ends of which are connected to a rope embedded with buri, plastic strips, sinkers or other similar materials to serve as scaring or herding device hauled through a mechanical winch or by manpower.
These gears have been proven to destroy marine habitats, thus they were banned in 2013.
On July 5 Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol signed FAO No. 246-1 which now includes a provision declaring the mere possession of Danish Seine or Modified Danish Seine and/or any of its paraphernalia as prima facie evidence for violation.
According to Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, mere possession of these paraphernalia is now a ground for law enforcers to make arrests.
Previously, he said, only when there was “actual (illegal) fishing” could the suspects be arrested.
Under FAO No. 246-1, violators (owner/operator of boat, boat captain, master fisher, and recruiter organizer) will “suffer the penalty of administrative fine equivalent to five times the value of fish caught or P2 million, whichever is higher, and confiscation of catch and gear.”
The erring fisherman, meanwhile, faces a fine of P20,000 or community service.
The amendment, after thorough deliberation, was endorsed by the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council chaired by DA undersecretary for Fisheries and concurrent Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) national director Eduardo Gongona, to the Office of the Secretary following a clamor from the Alliance of Provinces for the Protection of the Visayan Sea and other stakeholders to strengthen the implementation of the said FAO.
The amended FAO will take effect 15 days after its official publication.
“This new provision will not only intensify our campaign against illegal fishing activities but will also provide more clarity to our courts and law enforcers in the apprehension and prosecution of hulbot-hulbot operators,” said Gongona.
From the onset of the amendment process until it was approved, the move was met with support from the Pangingisda Natin Gawing Tama (PaNaGaT) network, an alliance of civil society fisheries organizations which include as members Greenpeace Southeast-Asia, Oceana Philippines, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, among others.
PaNaGat also commended BFAR Director Gongona, a retired Commodore of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), for working with PCG stations in the non-issuance of departure clearances to commercial fishing vessels using Danish Seines and Modified Danish Seines. (With a report from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Department of Agriculture/PN)
