By Ric Obedencio, Bohol Chronicle: Addressing the widespread illegal fishing in coastal and marine areas in the province "needs political will and it's a matter of priority," said Bohol Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera.
Herrera also urged fishermen to avoid using destructive methods.
He said coastal areas, a vast source of food, need to be properly kept because fishermen do not necessarily cultivate it unlike farms on land.
The vice-governor, who chairs the agriculture committee of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, was reacting to documented reports of unlawful activities such as dynamite and cyanide fishing particularly at the Danajon Reef in northern part of Bohol and other ares of the island.
Herrera, who received awards for his advocacy and campaign for coastal resource management while he was then mayor of Calape town, stressed the need for education for all stakeholders to make any coastal and marine preservation programs successful.
Aside from this, he said, the provincial government led by Gov. Erico Aumentado is strengthening the Coastal Law Enforcement Councils (CLEC) being institutionalized in three congressional districts.
CLEC composed of government agencies and private sectors, he said, is helpful in curbing illegal fishing since it is a deterrent. But there's a lot more to do about this, he added.
Herrera said he lauded the bold move of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Bohol chapter led by Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren to get rid of the illegal fishing in their respective turfs.
The mayors vowed to stamp out illegal fishing especially those big-time fishers who intrude the prohibited 15-kilometer municipal water from the shoreline.
He said the local officials should be true to their commitment to dispel public perception that they are insincere in enforcing the fishery law and rules and regulations.
Herrera expressed concern over the situation of the Danajon Reef as a result of the rampant destructive fishing. He appreciates the commitment of officials of regions VII and VIII to develop, protect, conserve and manage the 272-kilometer vast Danajon Double Barrier Reefs, the only documented double barrier reefs in Indo-Pacific region that is very rich in biodiversity and marine eco-systems.
He said Danajon Double Barrier reefs is the home the sea horse sanctuary that is recently awarded and the Banacon man-made mangrove forest, said to be the largest man-made mangrove forest in Southeast Asia. Both are awardees because of their significance in the environmental protection and conservation efforts.
Herrera said there is an urgency to save what is left of this Reef because of continuing destruction of the reefs and marine habitat there. Marine biologist Alan White study showed that only or about 25% of corals are left to support marine life in the area.
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