IN 1.14 hectares of sea, the seemingly endless meadow of corals and swarms of fish have made an underwater wonder dubbed as the Verde Island Passage (VIP) Corridor an important marine treasure. The VIP Corridor is the center of marine diversity as it hosts the greatest number of recorded fish species in the world.
The “VIP Corridor” straddles 5 provinces and is lined by 33 coastal towns where 84 marine protected areas have been declared. More than half of the Philippines’s fish species are found here.
For all its bounty, the VIP Corridor is a threatened sanctuary because of overfishing as more than 35,000 metric tons (MT) of fish are caught there every year. Changing water temperature due to climate change is also a threat to its corals, and consequently the rest of marine life.
In a joint project of United States Agency for International Development and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources dubbed as Ecofish (Ecosystem for Improved Sustainable Fisheries), the VIP Corridor has been classified as one of the eight biodiversity hot spots in the country.
Overfishing and the threats to Philippine oceans were discussed during a seminar on fisheries reporting organized by the Philippine Press Institute and Oceana Philippines. Margot Stiles, Oceana Philippines Director of Science and Strategy, said 85 percent of the world’s oceans are overfished. About 90 percent of global fish catch comes from only 25 countries. The Philippines ranks eighth in terms of global fish production.
Lawyer Liza Osorio of the Philippine Earth Justice said Danish seines are now being extensively used in the country, particularly in the Visayas. Locally, it is known as hulbot–hulbot, a Visayan term which means “drag.” The device is made up of a conical net bag with two long wings and long ropes extending from these wings to encircle a larger area.
Hulbot-hulbot catches even juvenile fish and disturbs the seabed and corals. “While its use could increase catch, the probability of fish getting caught faster than they can reproduce becomes bigger,” Osorio said.
She said a persistent problem is the commercial fishing boats’ “invasion” of municipal areas. Under the law, these boats are prohibited from going within 15 kilometers from the municipal shoreline. But enforcing regulations is a problem due to the lack of coast guards.
Meanwhile, lawyer Edward Lorenzo, policy director of Oceana Philippines said the release of Republic Act (RA) 10654 made law enforcement easier. In the past, criminal charges have to be filed in court and it takes a while before these cases are resolved. With the new regulation in place, the BFAR can simply file administrative cases, revoke the licenses of violators, and impose fines of up to P5 million.
The new law was put in place after the European Union, a major market for local fish, slapped a “yellow card” warning against the Philippines. RA 10654 allowed the government to base penalties on the size of boats and fines for commercial fishermen have dramatically increased from the previous P10,000.
Balayan Bay in the VIP Corridor
Balayan Bay is part of the “VIP Corridor.” In Anilao alone, a barangay along the Balayan Bay, a coral survey recorded an impressive 319 species and 74 genera of hard corals.
But Balayan Bay which spans eight municipalities is one among the two-third fishing bases in the country that are overfished.
The stories that abound in the small fishing villages in Balayan Bay reflect the bigger picture of the state of fishing in the municipal waters and the high seas and how this eventually threatens food security.
In the village of Loklok, Bauan, which is within the stretch of Balayan Bay, a fish species called dulong thrive in the bay. The dulong is a tiny silver fish which belongs to the Goby family. “There is a common misconception that dulong in its lifespan remains small,” Stiles said.
Manuel Mendoza, a magdudulong and a village councilor of Loklok, Bauan, said the dulong has three stages throughout its lifetime—dulong that grows into dilis and becomes a full grown bunggal. Magdudulong is a term that refers to fishers who catch dulong.
Mendoza has been a magdudulong for 14 years. Fishing dulong means braving the dark seas at night from his village to the Mindoro boarder where they shine their fish attractants and cast their nets.
Years before, they used to catch plenty of dulong. Their catch used to be about 50 containers called “tiklis” which can hold at least 5 kilograms of fish. Fishermen can catch an average of 250 kilos every night. These days, however, they can only catch 10 tiklis of dulong.
Other than dulong, the decrease in fish catch has been observed in Balayan Bay, prompting the provincial government of Batangas to regulate fishing. The municipality of Tingloy for example found that the spawning period for galunggong and hasa-hasa was from December 11 to 31. This prompted the local government to issue a provincial ordinance in 2014 to close the municipal waters for fishing during this period.
Ronald Castillo, Mabini municipal agriculturist reported that a month after the closure, the harvest of fish significantly increased. Other fish species like tamban also increased. But because of the oversupply of the tamban fish, prices went so low that it was no longer worth catching this fish. The closure also discouraged the use of destructive fishing methods like basnig, kukot and panggulong. Earnings from dulong, however, have become dismal. Mendoza said fishing dulong is no longer a profitable source of income as it used to be in the past.
On August 25 at least 52 magdudulongs attended a public consultation to consolidate and identify the specific “Fish Holiday” for dulong. The municipality is now trying to determine the dulong’s spawning season.
Osorio said there are some 2 million fishermen in the country. Also, more than 50 percent of Filipinos are dependent on fish protein. Should overfishing persist, fishing authorities said the country may need to be importing fish in a few years.