Illegal fishing continues at the country’s biggest marine reserve in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, even during the closed fishing season which was enforced beginning last month, a pro-environment group and other stakeholders in Negros Occidental, reported. The closed fishing season implemented by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will last until February 15 next year. Yet fishers still flout the ban because there are too few Coast Guard vessels patrolling the area, according to the Green Alert Network-Negros Island in a press statement. Sagay, which has 32,000 hectares of rich fishing waters, is also under the Marine Protected Area of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act.

Garcia, M. L. (2017, December 21). Illegal fishers defy Sagay marine reserve restrictions. Manila Bulletin, p. 9.