NEW PATROL BOATS. The five patrol five fiber-reinforced plastic patrol boats built by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Eastern Visayas regional office. BFAR said on Thursday (July 2, 2020) will deploy new patrol boats in five "hot spots" in the region to boost its fight against illegal fishing this month. (Photo courtesy of BFAR Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will deploy new patrol boats in five "hot spots" areas in Eastern Visayas to boost its fight against illegal fishing.
These five fiber-reinforced plastic patrol boats are intended for BFAR substations in Guiuan, Eastern Samar; Victoria, Northern Samar; Catbalogan City, Samar; some parts of Samar within the Leyte Gulf; and Matalom, Leyte.
BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said on Thursday these areas are considered "hot spots" due to incidents of unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) that led to declining fish catch.
“We already deployed patrol boats in these areas in 2014, but we need more to serve as blocking force. We have to intensify our presence in these areas to advance the well-being of our small fishermen,” Albaladejo told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The fisheries bureau is optimistic that the intensified sea patrol will contribute to improved fish catch in the future.
In Leyte Gulf alone, the current monthly production is only around 1.8 metric tons per square kilometer, way below the ideal five to 10 metric tons.
Each 30-footer boat costs PHP1.1 million. The boat has 115 horsepower outboard engine with a speed of 28 knots per hour. It is designed to chase illegal fishers.
These are the first five boats built by BFAR in its fiberglass making facility in Diit village in this city.
These boats, funded by Fisheries Coastal Resources and Livelihood (FishCORAL) project, will be deployed within the month, Albaladejo added.
The United Nations-funded FishCORAL project turned over the patrol boats on Wednesday in Carigara, Leyte in line with BFAR’s 73rd-anniversary celebration anchored on the theme "Improved Service Quality and Strong Partnerships Towards Fish Sufficiency.”
FishCORAL aims to reduce poverty in the target coastal communities of the target bays/ecosystems.
It seeks to realize this goal specifically through the adoption of sustainable management of the fishery and coastal resources in fishing communities that will help increase overall stocks and fish catch. (PNA)
