The Department of Agriculture (DA) claimed on Tuesday, June 8, that the increased presence of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) operatives in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has bolstered the confidence of Filipinos to catch fish in the area.
The department noted that since January this year, more than a hundred commercial fishing vessels have gone out to fish in the WPS. The figure includes 108 commercial fishing vessels coming from Bataan and Zambales, 20 from Pangasinan, 19 from Palawan, and two from Occidental Mindoro.
“The West Philippine Sea is a rich source of fish for the Philippines, contributing significantly to the country’s food security. Our increased presence in the area, through the DA-BFAR’s floating assets, is the Department of Agriculture’s way of ensuring that our fisherfolk are able to enjoy access to our fishery and aquatic resources in the WPS, while ensuring at the same time that these activities are within sustainable and rational means,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
Five monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) vessels and one multi-mission offshore vessel are currently deployed off the waters of Kalayaan Island Group, while one MCS vessel is at Bajo de Masinloc.
These assets aim to provide assistance and protection to Filipino fisherfolk venturing in the areas, the secretary added.
Aside from regular patrol, the DA-BFAR is also continuously providing necessary interventions to provinces and coastal communities facing the WPS via programs like fisheries development, fisheries regulation and law enforcement, and fisheries extension programs.
Among the recent assistance provided to fishers in Region IV-B were the post-harvest facilities given last year to Kalayaan, which included a community fish landing center.
The construction for a cold storage facility was also started last month.