A local fisherfolk group urged the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Sunday to regulate fishpen structures instead of imposing fishing ban on Sardinella tawilis or “tawilis” after reports that the only freshwater sardine in the world is already threatened with extinction.
“Instead of comprehensively and holistically addressing the shortage of tawilis, BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona is resorting to a futile solution that will obviously put the livelihood of small fisherfolk at stake,” Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas national chairperson Fernando Hicap said.
“We reiterate that it’s the unsustainable aquaculture practices in Taal Lake, such as unregulated expansion of fishpens that cause such kind of ecological imbalance,” he added.
Based on a study of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, tawilis is now endangered due to overfishing, illegal use of active fishing gears, proliferation of fish cages, and deterioration of water quality.
Hicap said fish pen structures that culture bioinvasive fish species do not only pollute and decongest the lake, but “pave way for an invasive fish species to take over the population of native species like tawilis by preying on them.” (Ellalyn V. Ruiz)