Kabuntalan LGU puts axe on illegal fishing

Vice-Mayor Ghadzali Taha

COTABATO CITY - The municipal government of Kabuntalan in Maguindanao gears up in strenghtening the implementation of the revised Municipal Ordinance 11, series of 2011 by the Sangguniang Bayan in pursuit to fight the illegal fishing activities in the town.

Ghadzali Taha, Vice-Mayor of Kabuntalan, said the move is in accordance with the countless complaints they have been receiving where illegal fishing activities continually take place in the swamps and marshy areas.

“These illegal fishermen have allegedly come from the nearby towns of Libungan, Pigcawayan, and DatuPiang,” said Taha.

Taha said the implementation of the municipal ordinance could be strenghtened with the help of the barangay captains together with the local officials.

“We gave them a copy of the ordinance to hold on to something just in case a relevant scenario would take place in no time,” said Taha. 

Taha emphasized that the alleged fishermen are not permanent residents of Kabuntalan but are just passers by to fish as means of livelihood.

“Our sympathy goes to our constituents too. Remember, we are teaching them the different proper ways of fishing, and here comes the illegal fishermen coming from other areas doing these illegal activities like electrofishing. Maybe most of them might not know yet about our ordinance, so we would want to educate them on our advocacy,” said Taha.

Furthermore, Taha said that in regards to the threat, the barangay officials are the ones who safeguard the “pawas” (marsh).

“Sometime four months ago, we got caught at least four illegal fishermen in the area. They’ve been using electric. They paid a penalty amounting to more than P10,000 each,” said Taha.

Besides, dangerous fishing habits could kill too many fish.

“Harmful fishing methods are depleting fish stocks so it is important to have sufficient law enforcement to stop practices like electrofishing,” said Taha.

Taha stressed we should not forget natural fishing practices

“Electrofishing can destroy the living environment of marine life. The recovery would be difficult and could take us a long time so it is also important to focus on educating the fishermen and the residents of Kabuntalan as well,” said Taha.

Taha said there should be stricter punishments for violations.

 “We would want to seek aid from our residents in raising awareness of the long-term benefits of natural fishing," said Taha.

Kabuntalan is a 6th class municipality of the province of Maguindanao. It is politically subdivided into 17 barangays  --- Bagumbayan, Buterin, Dadtumog (Dadtumeg), Gambar, Ganta, Katidtuan, Langeban, Liong, Lower Taviran, Maitong, Matilak, Pagalungan, Payan, Pedtad, Pened, Poblacion, and Upper Taviran.  (ANNE B. ACOSTA – MINDANAO EXPOSE’)