Stronger drive vs commercial fishing in municipal waters urged

An umbrella organization of small fishermen here urged the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and local government units (LGUs) to strengthen the campaign against commercial fishing in municipal waters of the province. Abcede Jardinico, acting chairman of the Negros Occidental Small Fishers Association (NOSFA), said commercial fishing vessel operations, including “hulbot-hulbot”, greatly affected the livelihood of small fisherfolks. Section 18 of the Republic Act 8550 (Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998) states that “all fishery-related activities in municipal waters, as defined in this Code, shall be utilized by municipal fisherfolk and their cooperatives or organizations which are listed as such in the registry of municipal fisherfolk.”