Fishermen in the Zamboanga Peninsula can start fishing for sardines this March, as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources officially lifted the off-season period at midnight of Thursday. The three-month fishing ban restricted fishermen in the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay from gathering sardines off the peninsula’s coasts. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol reiterated the significance of fishing closures to the population of sardines in Zamboanga.

Campos, O. V. (2018, March 2). Zamboanga fishermen get green light to cast nets. Manila Standard, p. A6.