While saying the use of fish-aggregating device (FAD) yield more fish, the practice causes overfishing, depletes fish stocks and affects marine ecosystems, the country’s top biodiversity official said on Wednesday.
In an interview, Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said FAD attracts fish to feed in a particular area, allowing fishermen to catch more fish, but warned that high concentration of fish in one area does not reflect the “real fish density.”
“Fish-aggregating devices only attract fish to gather in one area. At first, you will think there are plenty of fish to catch in the area but that population is only artificial. We don’t really know whether the area really has plenty of fish or they are the only ones left in that particular ecosystem,” Lim told the BusinessMirror.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is promoting the use of FAD to increase fish catch, such as in Benham Rise—the country’s newest territory—where Pacific bluefin tuna thrives.
The 13-million-hectare underwater plateau is currently undergoing deep-sea exploration by scientists.
Situated in eastern Luzon, just 250 kilometers off Aurora Province, Benham Rise is an important fishing ground in Luzon, but there are reports that foreign fishing vessels also frequent the area, too.
A recent deep-sea exploration activity in the area revealed that the Benham Bank, its shallowest portion has a dazzling array of soft and hard corals, fish, algae and sponges.
The two-week exploration conducted last month is part of an activity to discover more about the territory’s natural wealth, aside from initial theories that it holds huge volume of natural gas and oil, and precious metals, like manganese.
According to Oceana Philippines, a not-for-profit ocean-conservation advocacy group, which took part in the exploration, the expedition team documented a vast mesophotic reef ecosystem where coral reefs were found at depths of up to 150 meters. Scientists believe such deep-sea reefs can serve as a potential refuge for shallow-reef fish that could be affected by climate change.
In earlier interviews, the BFAR told the BusinessMirror that it has installed FAD in Benham Rise as early as 2013 and fishermen are now enjoying bountiful harvest in the area.
Sought for her expert opinion, Lim said the use of FAD is not sustainable and may, in fact, create a wrong impression that there are plenty of fish in the area.
“When you use fish-aggregating device, the fish goes in one area. Hence, there are more fish in one area, which commercial fishermen can catch. The problem with some fishing method is that it does not distinguish commercially valuable fish from the ones with important ecosystem functions,” Lim added.
Lim said fish caught using fish-aggregating device include small fishes that have no commercial value, like parrotfish and other fish species, but are part of the food chain.
“When you catch small fish and those with important ecosystem functions, you also cause disruption in the food chain that may affect the integrity of the ecosystem in a particular area,” she said.
The parrotfish is important in ensuring a healthy marine ecosystem as they feed on algae in coral reefs, the breeding ground and nursery of small fish. If it vanishes, corals become fragile and becomes prone to climate-change effects that lead to coral bleaching, such as in the Snake Island in Honday Bay in the province of Palawan.
The official said allowing fish to thrive naturally is the best way to ensure sustainable fisheries. This, she said, is the impetus behind the DENR-BMB’s declaration of marine protected areas (MPAs) in various parts of the country.
MPAs are declared under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act to protect and conserve key biodiversity areas—in both land and water.
“Tubbataha Reefs is a key biodiversity area and is a no-take zone. This means that fishing is not allowed in the area,” Lim added.
She said many similar sites remain unprotected against destructive fishing methods, like cyanide and dynamite fishing, in areas that are supposed to be conserve and protected because of their importance to marine ecosystem.
Lim said a multidisciplinary, multistakeholders’ planning is needed to ensure sustainable management of Benham Rise.
“What we need to is to study Benham Rise and its potential and come up with an integrated marine resource-management plan to ensure sustainable production,” she said.