Mandaue extends registration period for fishing boats
The Mandaue City Council has extended the deadline for registration of fishing vessels until March 31 for operators to avoid any penalties.
The registration was supposed to end last January 20 but City Councilor Elstone Dabon, author of the City Ordinance No. 14-2017 which grants extension in the payment of the annual registration fee, said that the fisherfolk have suffered decline in their catch which caused them some difficulty in paying the required fees.
Dabon pointed out that the decline in their catch was brought about by the recent typhoon which struck the entire province of Cebu last January.
"There is a need for the granting of extension in the payment of the annual boat or commercial fishing vessel registration of Mandaue City fisher folks for humanitarian reason, considering that the plight of the latter after the typhoon greatly affected their means of livelihood," Dabon said.
Further, the ordinance proposed by Dabon also lowers the fees for motorized fishing boats from P1,000 to P500.
Sections 43 and 44 of City Ordinance No. 12-2013-798, otherwise known as the Local Fishery Code of Mandaue City, cited that all fishing boats and commercial fishing vessels must be registered under the City Agriculturist Office.
The annual fee for the vessel under the ordinance is P100 for hook and line fishing boats, while the fee for motorized fishing boats is P1,000, and commercial fishing vessels P5,000.
Still under Section 43, owners of fishing vessels are required to register their vessels within the first 20 days of January of each year and late payment of the registration incurs a penalty of 50 percent over and above the registration fee required.
Fish workers or boat captains of commercial fishing vessels are also required to carry proof of their boat registration whenever they go fishing. Additionally for commercial fishing vessels, the registration should be displayed in a conspicuous part of the vessel.
The annual registration fee shall be paid and collected by the City Treasurer's Office and to be deposited in the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and Protection Fund. (FREEMAN)
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