ILOILO CITY, (PNA) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) introduced the use of “payaw” to fishermen as an alternative fishing method during the “no fishing season” in some other regions in the country.
Payaw is an artificial fish sanctuary or fish aggregating device, usually made of piled and tied bamboo poles to catch fish.
In the 2014 national budget, DA Secretary Proceso Alcala said they have allocated P4 billion to prioritize this project as part of its intervention program to improve the income of fishermen as well as the fishing industry of the country.
He said in the past six years, the fish catch of fishermen had been decreasing but starting this year, the domestic supply has increased to 4.4 percent due to some interventions they made together with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
“Target beneficiaries of this project will be based on the recommendations and requests of the Local Government Units (LGUs),” he said in a press conference right after the rice harvest demonstration at Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (Westviarc) in Sitio Hamungaya, Brgy. Buntatala, Jaro district here on Tuesday.
In Iloilo, the provincial government has also introduced “payaw” fishing particularly in northern part of the province to minimize illegal fishing activities.
“This is not an illegal structure. This payaw is removable and could not damage our marine life,” Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr.
Through this alternative fishing, Defensor said illegal fishing activities could be minimized if not totally eradicate. He added they are still looking for other alternative livelihood program for fishermen so that some of their illegal activities may be diverted into useful and productive practices.
In the Visayan Sea, catching and selling of said three fish species such as sardine, mackerel and herring are banned starting November to March this year.
BFAR-6 regional director Drucila Esther Bayate said the annual fishing ban that began in November, 1989 was implemented to curb the declining population of the three different fish species.
She said the Visayan Sea, considered as the country’s richest fishing ground, has only produced 1.15 percent of the country’s sardine, mackerel and herring catch over the last five years.
Areas included in the ban were Gigantes Island in Carles, Iloilo; the northwestern coast of Capiz province; westward of Guimaras Strait; and northern coast of Negros island.
Bayate added that the BFAR will continue its research on the results of the annual fishing ban and how the population of the three fish species can be sustained.