Clamp down on illegal fish pens starts Sept. 1
THE city government of Dagupan is finally putting its foot down on illegal fish pens.
On September 1, several teams will clamp down on illegal fish pens, particularly those that are not properly located, oversized, or operating without a permit.
Owners of oversized pens will be given 15 days to reduce the size of their structures.
At the same time, Mayor Benjamin Lim will soon be inviting fishpond owners, marginalized fisherfolks, environmentalists and consignacions to a symposium to discuss and review the bangus industry and the protection of the rivers in the city.
Lim, who has ordered a temporary stop in the issuance of Aquaculture Lease Agreement (ALA), is determined to implement a one-year moratorium on the operation of fish pens in the city to give the Sangguniang Panglunsod time to craft a new law or amend the existing fisheries code.
The mayor said there is a need to give the existing fisheries code more teeth to penalize violators and to increase taxation or implement a more equitable taxing system to give more opportunities to the marginalized sector.
He has also given fish pen owners until October 30 this year to suspend their operations temporarily.
“We need to get the consensus of the majority who will agree later on that there is a need to implement a moratorium so we can have time to plant mangrove trees in the riverside for the meantime,” Lim said.
“During the symposium, a comparison will also be made on the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining a fish pen and a fishpond so we will know the difference,” Lim added.
Other topics that will be tackled during the symposium include improvement of production using machinery; substitution of fish pens with other crafts like the floating cage; and whether bangus should remain the main produce or raise other species like talakitok, pampano, and lapu-lapu which are considered high-value fish.
“After all, there is no longer much difference between bangus grown in Dagupan and those grown in Bolinao nowadays except bangus which are fed with “linang” in the fishpond,” he said.
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