PARTNERSHIP. BFAR-7 regional director Dr. Allan Poquita (left) and ACCERT president Dr. Miguel Ortiz (right) are shown after signing a memorandum of agreement on Monday (April 19, 2021) for the strengthening of the region's anti-illegal fishing drive. The agreement stipulates that ACCERT members will serve as volunteer units or force multipliers and mutual partners on fishery law enforcement. (Photo courtesy of BFAR-7)
CEBU CITY – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (BFAR-7) has partnered with non-government organization Anti-Crime and Community Emergency Response Team (ACCERT) for the strengthening of the region's anti-illegal fishing campaign.
This endeavor was formalized on Monday with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between BFAR-7 regional director Dr. Allan Poquita and ACCERT president Dr. Miguel Ortiz at the BFAR-7 regional office here.
Poquita said the agreement stipulates that ACCERT members will serve as "volunteer units or force multipliers and mutual partners" in the relentless drive on fishery law enforcement.
He said both parties will work together to address the issues that surround enforcement implementation and moral and spiritual transformation within the mandate of BFAR-7 “and come up with possible recommendations to enhance program strategies.”
The agency, he said, is not lowering its guard on fishery law enforcement amid the prevailing health crisis.
One of BFAR’s enforcement mandates is to prohibit commercial operators from fishing in the municipal waters.
Commercial fishing boat operators have been warned that they will have to face the consequences if they continue to violate fishery laws, including Republic Act 10654 or "An Act to Prevent, Deter, Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing," which amended RA 8550 or "The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998."
Local fishermen are allowed to venture in the seawaters 15 kilometers from the shoreline while commercial fishers are permitted beyond this point. (PNA)
