Discussion on Tañon Strait issues scheduled this month

CEBU, Philippines - A marine conservation group is pushing for heightened fishery regulations in the country to address overfishing in the Philippines.

Oceana Philippines, together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has set the Tañon Strait Summit in Cebu on February 10-12 to discuss issues concerning the strait, which lies between Cebu and Negros islands.

“Sixty percent of the population of Filipinos lives in coastal areas while more than sixty percent of protein consumable is supplied by fishes. Ang masakit nito ay ang Philippines is greatly overfished,” said Oceana Philippines legal counsel and policy officer lawyer Edward Lorenzo.

In a statement, Oceana noted that 75 percent of the fishing grounds in the Philippines are currently overfished.

He said though that the Philippine government has already taken steps in addressing the problem.

“That was the big issue that pushed the government to do a lot of effort. This would be a lead for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. They’ll be working with the Congress in trying to push through the amendments to heighten the control of the fisheries code,” he said.

“Oceana Philippines is here to help,” he added.

He said one focus of their programs - in which they will be working closely with the local government units, BFAR, and the DENR - is the Tañon Strait, the largest marine protected area in the Philippines.

“And it is not exactly the easiest way to monitor and to govern the area, we cannot do it alone, the local government units and agencies cannot do it alone. We all need to work together,” he said.

The management plan, he said, has to be improved for a long term sustainability of the strait.

“One of the biggest issues here is the management plan for Tañon Strait still has not been signed, not yet approved by the management board, and we are hoping on upgrading the plan, to see what changes have to be made,” he said.

Tañon Strait, Lorenzo said, is not just a tourist attraction.

“The bigger issue of  Tañon Strait is the people, the coastal communities, the fisher folks who depend on the resources of Tañon strait,” he stressed. — (FREEMAN)