THE closed season in the sardine fishery will run from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15 next year, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
The BFAR said that the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council had approved the adjustment of the closed fishing season for sardines around the Zamboanga Peninsula.
“Starting this year, the waters of the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait, and Sibuguey Bay will be closed to sardine fishing,” BFAR said in a statement.
It added that this would coincide with the implementation of the closed fishing season for small pelagic fish, including sardines in the Visayan Sea.
The previous closed season ran from Dec. 1 to March 1.
“Our policies are continuously subjected to reviews and assessments. If scientific researchers find our measures in need of improvement, then we commit to modifying our programs based on scientific evidence,” BFAR Director Demosthenes R. Escoto said.
BFAR said its Administrative Circular No. 255 from 2014 calls for closed seasons to be “constantly monitored to ensure the sustainability and conservation of sardines.”
Sardine fishing is also banned in northern Palawan between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, while the closed fishing season for herring and mackerel in the Visayan Sea declared for the Nov. 15-Feb. 15 period.
The Department of Agriculture has said that it is set to import about 34,000 metric tons of fish to curb shortages during the closed fishing season. — Adrian H. Halili
