Kalap Vol. 10, No. 01, January-June 2009 556kb - Bureau of ...

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TUGUEGARAO CITY,
CAGAYAN (April 20) – One whale
shark, a rare type of fish, was rescued
by local officials and residents in
Buguey town this province over the
weekend.
In a phone interview, Buguey
Municipal Secretary Arthur Pagador
said that the whale shark, measuring
about 7 meters in length and
weighing about 2 tons was found
entangled in a beach seine (daklis)
along the shore of Barangay Centro
West Saturday morning.
Pagador said that Buguey
Acting Town Mayor Licerio
Antiporda III immediately directed
the local police to secure the area
and facilitate release of the trapped
animal.
After an hour or so, the whale
shark, also known as butanding, was
freed and was able to return towards
the deeper portions of the sea.
“It is very fortunate that the
fishermen made a move to save the
KALAP January - June 2009
Whale shark rescued by fisherfolk
TUGUEGARAO CITY,
CAGAYAN – The fisheries bureau
in the region has joined the
nationwide reforestation project last
May 29, by spearheading mangrove
planting activities in the municipalities
of Claveria and Buguey, this
province.
According to BFAR RO2
Regional Director Jovita Ayson, a
total of 600 mangrove propagules
were planted in both municipalities,
in addition to 300 seedlings earlier
planted in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.
Ayson said that this mangrove
and upland reforestation project
dubbed “Puno Ko, Sagip Buhay
Mo” is one of the highlights of the
animal instead of kill it”,
Pagador said.
Whale shark,
scientifically known as
Rhincodon typus is
listed among the
prohibited species under
the Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species
Appendix II.
Sec. 97 of RA 8550
and Fisheries Administrative Order
193 prohibits the catching of whale
sharks and manta rays. Violation to
the law carries 6 months to 4 years
imprisonment as penalty.
Old folks in the coastal areas say
that whale sharks used to abound in
great quantities but indiscriminate
fishing might have drove them off.
BFAR RO2 Regional Director Jovita
Ayson said that recent sightings might
be an indication of the re-emergence
of whale shark population in
Cagayan waters.
Farmers and Fisherfolk Month last
May. “This project is BFAR’s
contribution to mitigate effects of
climate change and global warming
and at the same time arrest decline
of mangrove forests in the country,”
the RD said.
A total of 50,000 mangrove
propagules were likewise
transplanted in Region 4A with
Atimonan, Quezon as lead area for
the activity’s kick-off ceremonies.
Other BFAR regional offices also led
reforestation activities in their
respective jurisdiction.
Already in its third year, the Puno
Ko, Sagip Buhay Mo project is
BFAR and fisherfolk’s action to
Recently, the fisheries bureau in
the region initiated a briefing among
members of the Regional Law
Enforcement Coordinating
Committee (RLECC 2) Subcommittee
on Fishing and Marine
Environmental Protection on the
proper rescue procedure on stranded
marine mammals to include whale
sharks and other rare and threatened
species, as part of the activities under
the Region 02 Marine Mammal
Stranding Network.
BFAR 2 joins nationwide reforestation project
revive once vast mangrove forest in
the country.
Statistical data reveal that from
500,000 hectares in 1998,
mangrove areas shrank to about
120,500 ha in 1994.
Aside from being a habitat to
fishery and other species, mangroves
also provide services such as coastal
protection, erosion control, sediment
stabilization, flood regulation, nutrient
supply, and regeneration and
treatment of particulate wastes.
Reviving mangroves, therefore,
is imperative to enable man to
continue deriving benefits from this
invaluable resource, BFAR said.