The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) said Thursday it will prohibit the use of purse seine, ring net and bagnet to catch round scad or galunggong in the conservation area northeast of Palawan from Nov. 1, 2024 to Jan. 31, 2025.
The DA-BFAR announced the start of the three-month closed fishing season, a science-based conservation measure aimed at protecting fish populations during their peak spawning period.
By allowing mature fish to reproduce freely and juveniles to grow and mature, the policy promotes fish regeneration, sustainability, and long-term availability of these valuable stocks.
Now in its ninth year, the closed fishing season has yielded consistently positive results, according to scientific data collected in collaboration with the National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI).
Key findings include an increase in the percentage of mature galunggong catches, from 58 percent in 2015 to 85 percent in 2023, indicating that more of the species are reaching reproductive age.
The average length of galunggong rose from 16.7 cm in 2015 to 18.9 cm in 2023.
The results reflect improved fish growth, species resilience, and a stable population, attributed to the effective implementation of the closed fishing season.
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed an increase in galunggong production in Palawan from 7,507 metric tons (MT) in 2016 to 8,146.84 MT in 2022.
The increase in productivity highlights the significant effect of conservation initiatives, such as instituting a closed season.
Galunggong ranked as Palawan’s second most significant fish species by volume in 2022, underscoring its economic importance.
