Amir Mawalil, ARMM's public information chief, said their region’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) would implement the closed season on the catching of sardines until March, reports PhilStar.
Jerusalem Abdullahim, ARMM-BFAR chief of the Fisheries Regulatory and Law Enforcement Division, said the annual ban intends to conserve the population of the sardines locally known as “tamban.”
The executive said the closed season was pursuant to the Philippine Fisheries code which covers the waters of east Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait, and the Sibuguey Bay for the temporary suspension to allow the spawning of the fish species.
Mawalil said the ban also includes selling, buying and possessing sardines caught within the conservation area.
