The Department of Agriculture (DA) has allowed the catching and sale of certain mangrove crab juvenile and mangrove crablets for aquaculture purposes to help stakeholders augment their income amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued DA Administrative Circular (AC) 02, Series of 2021 that partially lifted the suspension of Section 3 (a) of Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 264, Series of 2020.
The FAO 264 set forth the regulations on the catching, possession, transporting, selling, trading and exporting of mangrove crablets, juvenile mangrove crabs and gravid mango crabs.
FAO 264 prohibited the catching, possessing, selling, trading and transporting of mangrove crablets and mangrove crab juvenile and mangrove crablets with less than 12 centimeter carapace width (CW) from the wild, gravid mangrove crab and exporting of wild-sourced mangrove crab breeders, spawners, eggs or fry.
“There is a clamor from stakeholders whose livelihood are affected by the implementation of the FAO to allow them to catch, transport, trade, and sell crablets less than 5 centimeters CW for aquaculture purposes in order to augment their income during this Covid-19 pandemic and also to support the recovery of the aquaculture industry,” Dar said in his AC, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror.
“In view of the foregoing, the implementation of Section 3 [a] of FAO 264 is partly suspended, as such, the catching, transport, trading, and selling of mangrove crab juvenile and mangrove crablets less than 5 centimeters CW from wild is allowed provided that it is for aquaculture purposes only,” Dar added.
Dar instructed the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to “provide immediate assistance in coping with the unprecedented economic, social health crisis with impacts on the most vulnerable groups, specifically the mangrove crablets gatherers, consolidators, traders and growers.”
“In order to mitigate the impact of gathering of fly-sized crablets to the mangrove stock population, while the FAO 264 is partly suspended, DA-BFAR regional offices shall ensure that precautionary conservation and management measures are implemented including but not limited to mangrove reforestation, release of gravid mangrove crabs, stock enhancement and establishment of crab sanctuaries,” Dar said.
In a news statement issued on Tuesday, BFAR said it will ensure the “continuous provision of measures to manage and sustainably conserve not only mangrove crabs but also all fishers and aquatic resources.” BFAR noted that this is in consideration of the livelihoods of the Filipino fisheries stakeholders, especially the fisherfolk.
With Jonathan L. Mayuga