Sardine fishing’s challenges in Zamboanga

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said that that there will be no catching of sardines during their spawning period from Dec. 1 to March 1 next year in the waters of Zamboanga del Norte. (“BFAR imposes closed season on sardines,” Inquirer, 10/22/11)

If the fishing ban will be effectively enforced, an optimum biomass of spawning sardines (tamban)—sexually mature at 1 year old and with a limited life span of 2.5 years—will be able to reproduce a large number of offspring that will grow to marketable size, thus increasing the volume of the annual sardine catch to the level of maximum sustainable yield.  In fact, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) data indicate that the total sardine catch for both commercial and municipal fishers in Zamboanga peninsula is increasing but is erratic—from 85,440 metric tons in 2003 to 223,225 mt in 2010, representing 59 percent and 67 percent of the country’s total sardine catch, respectively.  While the bulk of the peninsula’s sardine catch comes from Zamboanga del Norte, its share of the total sardine catch landed is not only small but also decreasing, from 12.75 percent in 2003 to 9.6 percent in 2010.  The main reasons are the intrusion of big commercial fishing boats into the municipal waters and the direct trading at fishing grounds, which create a condition that allows the direct shipment of more or less 90 percent of the peninsula’s total sardine catch to Zamboanga City.

It is a wake-up call to all major stakeholders: Make the fishery-rich Zamboanga del Norte—with 18 of its 26 municipal/city LGUs directly involved in the enforcement of fishery laws—build its capacity to develop and manage its fishery resources in order to address the problem of lingering poverty, one of the causes of lawlessness and armed conflicts in the Zamboanga peninsula. It must be noted that Zamboanga del Norte has the highest population poverty incidence of 61.6 percent in 2009—as against Zamboanga Sibugay’s 49.8,  Zamboanga del Sur’s 30.9,  and Zamboanga City’s 23.8 (National Statistical Coordination Board data).  Moreover, it has to build its capacity to adapt to climate change (which periodically affects the sustainability of the sardine fishing).

—EDMUNDO ENDEREZ,

eenderez@gmail.com