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By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
A nongovernment organization wants government to
compensate fishermen affected by a fishing ban in Tañon Strait off
Cebu, where a Japanese firm is exploring for oil.
The group estimates that the government will
have to pay the fishers P16 million in compensation during the
two-month fishing ban.
In a statement, Arsenio Tanchuling, Tambuyog
Development Center executive director, said the fishing ban will be
imposed by Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JAPEX) for two-month of
its oil and gas exploration within seven square kilometers of the
strait, particularly in the municipal waters of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan
in northern Cebu.
“But both the JAPEX and the Department of
Energy have so far failed to give any assurances in their
consultations with stakeholders that they will compensate at least
1,500 fishers fishing in the area and will be affected by the
fishing ban,” Tanchuling added.
He said the 1,500 fisher folk represent the
total number of registered fishermen in Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan.
Tanchuling added that based on a recent study,
the two municipalities have an aggregate yearly fishing revenues of
about P95 million.
“Therefore, the opportunity cost of a
two-month fishing ban would amount to P16 million, or about P10,600
a fisher,” he said.
This amount, Tanchuling added, does not yet
account for cost that would ensue from accidents, such as oil spills
from the exploration site.
“A major oil spill, although not likely, could
affect the whole Tañon Strait, including the southern portion where
various dolphin and whale species are found, and which is becoming a
major eco-tourism site,” he said.
Tanchuling added that the government does not
yet have a plan for alternative livelihoods of fishers in case the
amount of oil or gas is found viable for commercial production.
The Manila Times tried to get a reaction from
the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director Malcolm
Sarmiento Jr., but his mobile phone was turned off.
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