All Subic fish cages removed soon to clear congested bay
The 94 remaining illegal fish cages in the municipal waters of Subic, Zambales, will be dismantled on Wednesday, giving small fishermen their right to fish again in that part of the bay.
Lormelyn Claudio, chief of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Central Luzon, said she issued the final demolition order after a meeting here on Friday with the multipartite monitoring team (MMT).
Members of the team are Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II, representatives of the Samahang Pinagkaisa sa Pangisdaan ng Olongapo, Subic at San Antonio (Sapsap) and the Subic Bay Resorts Association (Subra).
Claudio said she asked the Philippine National Police’s maritime office, Philippine Coast Guard and the local police to help in the demolition.
The 94 cages were what remained of the 200 illegal pens that the EMB ordered closed on Aug. 29 last year for lack of environmental clearance certificates (ECCs) and complaints for pollution.
The six operators dismantled half of those, it was learned.
She said she expected no violent resistance from the operators on Wednesday as they had been properly informed about the demands of the MMT.
The demolition team, however, has been advised to take caution because fishermen reported seeing some armed men in the disputed areas.
Asked why it took the EMB four months to fully implement the closure, Claudio said her office had to deal with the opposition of the Subic Fish Cages Operators Association (Sufcopas).
“They made false claims that areas of less than a hectare are not covered by the environmental impact system and thus cannot be covered by the cease-and-desist order,” she said.
Lacbain’s research, she said, helped the EMB strengthen the bases of its closure order. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon
Lormelyn Claudio, chief of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Central Luzon, said she issued the final demolition order after a meeting here on Friday with the multipartite monitoring team (MMT).
Members of the team are Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II, representatives of the Samahang Pinagkaisa sa Pangisdaan ng Olongapo, Subic at San Antonio (Sapsap) and the Subic Bay Resorts Association (Subra).
Claudio said she asked the Philippine National Police’s maritime office, Philippine Coast Guard and the local police to help in the demolition.
The 94 cages were what remained of the 200 illegal pens that the EMB ordered closed on Aug. 29 last year for lack of environmental clearance certificates (ECCs) and complaints for pollution.
The six operators dismantled half of those, it was learned.
She said she expected no violent resistance from the operators on Wednesday as they had been properly informed about the demands of the MMT.
The demolition team, however, has been advised to take caution because fishermen reported seeing some armed men in the disputed areas.
Asked why it took the EMB four months to fully implement the closure, Claudio said her office had to deal with the opposition of the Subic Fish Cages Operators Association (Sufcopas).
“They made false claims that areas of less than a hectare are not covered by the environmental impact system and thus cannot be covered by the cease-and-desist order,” she said.
Lacbain’s research, she said, helped the EMB strengthen the bases of its closure order. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
4:04 PM
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