BFAR: Revive Davao Gulf council
Date: Sunday, June 04, 2017
By ACE JUNE RELL S. PEREZ

DAVAO. BFAR-Davao regional director Fatma Idris said that the Davao Gulf Management Council
plays an important role in implementing the region’s three-month observation of the Davao Gulf Close
Season. (Contributed photo)

THE Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Davao intends to activate the Davao
Gulf Management Council to fully guard the marine area in preserving its rich resources.
BFAR-Davao regional director Fatma Idris said that the council is important in
implementing the region’s three-month observation of the Davao Gulf Close Season set
every first day of June to August. The close season started in 2014. “We hope that the
council (Davao Gulf Management Council) will be activated this time. Since it’s a joint effort,
with all the Local Government Units (LGU) representatives, there must be someone to
oversee for the council,” she said last Friday during the commencement ceremony of the
close season at the BFAR-Davao office in R. Magsaysay St., Davao City. The council, Idris
said, became inactive when President Rodrigo Duterte’s term as Davao City Mayor ended.
The death of the erstwhile city councilor Leo Avila also affected the council. Avila died last
December 20, 2015. The council is a body assigned to ensure all activities within the gulf
are for protection, conservation and development of all marine resources. “Hopefully, the
next head would be coming from Davao City executives. Also, we are looking at Compostela
Valley Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy since he also heads the Regional Peace and Order Council
(RPOC) in Davao Region,” Idris said. The council is composed of representatives from all
national agencies, LGUs and non-government organizations (NGOs). Chair of Barog
Katawhan Jerry Dela Cerna, meanwhile, said they submitted a resolution to the Office of the
President that seeks to establish the Davao Gulf Management Authority, prohibits selling of
juvenile fishes and other aquatic resources in the market and total ban of commercial
fishing. Davao City Councilor Marissa Salvador-Abella, who chairs the committee of
agriculture and food, said she will recommend to Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio the
amendment of the implementing rules and regulations of the Fisheries Code of Davao City
that seeks to include specific measurements for prohibition of catching and selling of
juvenile species. "The inclusion of specific measurements will ensure that there will be no
more excuses for fisher folks as well as vendors should they be apprehended if they violate
the ordinance," Abella said, adding that unregulated fishing could be detrimental to the
abundant marine resources in the gulf. This year marks the fourth year implementation of
the Joint Administrative Order 02 of the Department of Agriculture and Department of
Interior and Local Government. During the closed-season, the gulf is closed for fishing
operations that use ring-net and bag-net gears regardless of the tonnage to boost fish
production during the spawning season. It covers 21 coastal municipalities. The BFAR, in
coordination with Philippine Coast Guard for Southern Mindanao, Maritime Unit of the
Philippine National Police and Philippine Navy, is monitoring fishermen who are using
ring-net and bag net in fishing. Last year, BFAR recorded only one violator of the
administrative order. Based on BFAR's scientific studies, Davao Gulf is a key biodiversity
area (KBA) in the Philippines. It is listed as one of the 34 biodiversity hot spots in the
world. The area is also the feeding ground for 11 species of cetaceans, including sperm
whales, killer whales, and bottle-nose dolphins and nursing ground for five endangered
turtle species, including hawksbill, leatherback, and olive ridley.

Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/business/2017/06/05/bfar-revive-davaogulf-council-545686

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