In a continued effort to empower Local Fish Wardens and instill necessary fishery laws, rules, and regulations, a three-day Fishery Law Enforcement Team Training was held at the Gubat Public Library in LGU Gubat, Sorsogon from July 31 to August 2, 2024.

 

Forty one individuals, including local PNP officers, Philippine Coast Guard members, Menro officers, and Bantay Dagat members comprised the training participants. They engaged with various topics presented by speakers from BFAR-5, such as Coastal Resource Management, Fisheries Management Area, and a review of their I-FIT Summary by Eloisa Bien and John Paul Nacion from the Fisheries Resource Management Section (FRMS).

 

Salient Features of RA 10654 and Rules and Procedure for Adjudication of Fisheries Law Cases were presented by Atty. Ronaldo R. Dacer and Atty. Monaliza Delos Santos, respectively. In addition, topics like the Role of Fishery Law Enforcement Officers (FLEO) and Agencies, Fishery Law Enforcement Manual of Operations (FLEMO), Classification of Fishing Gears, Permits and licenses issued by BFAR, CITES listed Species, related Fisheries Administrative Order, Detection of Fish By Means of Explosives, and Workshop on Legal Forms were discussed comprehensively by Marcial Beleno Jr, Efraim T. Mendoza and Joshua Jireh Zabala.

 

The Municipal Fisheries Ordinance (2017) was also explained by the Municipal Agriculturist to ensure participants were aware of local regulations. An actual market denial exercise was conducted to identify any presence of dynamited fish, endangered species, shellfish, and other regulated fishery products.

The training concluded with an action planning session, where participants outlined their operational needs and strategies for future enforcement activities.