NAGA CITY: The preservation and conservation of exotic fish sinarapan,
the world’s smallest commercial fish, get a boost from a Senate bill that
establishes “Sinarapan Sanctuary (SS)” in the provinces of CamSur Sur and
Albay.
With Senators Francis Escudero, Pia Cayetano, and Franklin Drilon as
authors, Senate Bill No 3264, now on second reading in the Senate, seeks to
place SS as protected area under the category of wildlife sanctuary, complete
with institutional and enforcement mechanisms.
It named four small lakes categorized as SS with all lands comprising
them fall under the classification of “National Park as provided for in the
Philippine Constitution".
Once passed into “Sinarapan Sanctuary (SS) Act of 2012,’’ the Lakes
Manapao (2.7ha), Makuao (1.03ha) and Katugday (2.43ha) in Buhi town in
Camarines Sur, and Lake Danao (8.3 ha) in Malinao town in Albay will be
protected to ensure the conservation of sinarapan, Mistichthys luzonensis, an
endemic fish species found in the surrounding areas of Mt. Asog.
A little more than 2mm, Sinarapan, once numerous in Lake Buhi, started
disappearing in the 1980s with the advent of motorized fishing to capture them
for commercial exploitation.
Acting on the problem of sinarapan depletion, the municipal government
of Buhi enforced prohibition of capture of sinarapan in Lake Buhi and
established SS in Lakes Manapao and Katugday, where sinarapan are raised for
restocking into Lake Buhi.
With the Senate bill, the local initiative of the municipal government
to preserve and conserve sinarapan has to become a state policy with the
involvement of national government entities. – Bicol Mail
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