Press Release
Department of Agriculture
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
May 11, 2012

DA-BFAR: ‘Payaos are only for municipal waters’

There will be no payao or fish aggregating device (FAD) to be installed at Scarborough or Panatag Shoal, but only within municipal waters.

Director Asis G. Perez of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) clarifies that payaos will be installed primarily within the 15-kilometer municipal water boundaries of coastal municipalities in the West Philippine Seas and not at Panatag Shoal, which is 119 nautical miles or 220 kilometers away from the coastal town of Paluig, in Zambales.

He said payaos are intended to be installed near the shore or within the 15-km municipal waters. Hence, they are called ‘near-shore payaos.’

He said 45 units of near-shore payao will be installed in the municipal waters off Zambales, of which four were installed last month in Subic. The remaining 41 units will be deployed within the month or after the southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’ season in 10 coastal municipalities (San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabanggan, Sta. Cruz, Masinloc, Iba, Candelaria, Palauig and Botolan).

On May 14, 2012, Director Perez will meet with the mayors and fisherfolk-leaders of said coastal municipalities, and lead in the deployment of five payaos in the coastal waters off Masinloc.

The DA-BFAR is also currently undertaking surveys in the coastal waters off Pangasinan to Ilocos region to identify appropriate areas where payaos are best suitable. 

In all, the DA-BFAR plans to install more than 200 units in other coastal municipalities throughout the country, right after the ‘habagat’ season. 

The payao is a fish aggregating device that would provide marginal fishermen a specific area to catch fish. In payao areas, only hand-line fishing is allowed. That way, the fishermen would spare smaller fishes near the water surface that serve as food for the bigger fishes occupying the bottom areas and thus make the payao more sustainable.

Director Perez said in payaos, marginal fishermen could catch as big as a 40-kilo tuna and other high value pelagic species, as reported in Tawi-Tawi, Mindoro and Claveria where the DA-BFAR has deployed near-shore payaos early this year. ### (DA BFAR Information Group)

References:
DA-BFAR Director Atty. Asis G. Perez - 0917-5502424
DA-BFAR Region 3 Director Remedios R. Ongtangco - 0918-9095503
DA-BFAR Information Officer Ms Melannie R. Guerra - 0928-7614060 or (02) 454-5863